Ubisoft official Nitro bike press release

Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, announced it will release Nitrobike™ exclusively for the Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo.

Developed by Left Field Productions, the creators of the classic Excitebike® 64 for the Nintendo® 64, Nitrobike will be published and distributed by Ubisoft for Holiday 2007. Players will navigate rocket-propelled motorcycles in this arcade-style game. Players can choose to race against the clock or against worthy opponents in Nitrobike’s exciting multiplayer game mode and unique online mode.

“Ubisoft is thrilled to be introducing the first Motocross game available for Wii,” said Jay Cohen, vice president of publishing at Ubisoft. “Nitrobike’s fun and fast-paced gameplay is sure to be a hit for Wii owners for the holiday season.”

Ubisoft’s latest release schedule reveals that Brothers In Arms: Double Time for Nintendo Wii will be released a month later than expected on 19th October. The game had previously been announced for release a month earlier, which is a month earlier than its release had previously been expected.

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More About: Brothers In Arms: Double Time, Nintendo Wii

These are the Top Nintendo Wii / DS Products from Amazon:

Wii:

• 1. Mario 8-Nintendo Party
• 2. Wii Play + Wiimote Remote-Nintendo
• 3. Super Paper Mario-Nintendo
• 4. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess-Nintendo
• 5. Reside Evil 4-Capcom
• 6. Big Brain Academy: Wii Dismantle-Nintendo
• 7. Rayman Raving Rabbids-Ubisoft
• 8. Warioware: Smooth Moves-Nintendo
• 9. Tiger Woods PGA Turn 07-EA
• 10. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’ S End-Disney

DS:

• 1. Pokemon Diamond-Nintendo
• 2. Pokemon Pearl-Nintendo
• 3. New Super Mario Bros. - Nintendo
• 4. Mario Kart-Nintendo
• 5. Brain Age-Nintendo
• 6. Big Brain Academy-Nintendo
• 7. Nintendogs Labrador Retriever and Friends-Nintendo
• 8. Crossing animal: Wild World-Nintendo
• 9. Cooking Mama-Majesco
• 10. Tetris-Nintendo

More About: Nintendo, Wii, DS

Key Points:

- Wii is really popular and is sold out a lot (even at NOA Company store)

- Wii Remote is cheap to make
Accelerometer: $2.50
Basic Memory Chip: $0.25
Audio Amplifier: $0.50
Data Converter: $0.50
Rumble Pack: $2.50
Bluetooth Chip: $2.00
Audio Translator: $2.00
Plastic Casing: Unknown
Wrist Strap: Unkown

- $50 profit per Wii

- $5 Million to develop Wii game vs $20 Million for PS3 game

-Ubisoft says Nintendo is best console maker to work with

- EA says Nintendo is a pioneer

- Wii’s success has done little to convince Microsoft execs that they’rs on the wrong course (Peter Moore: “I love the experience, the price point and Nintendo content of the Wii, but Microsoft provides experiences that Nintendo cannot provide”)

- CEO of SCE America says give credit to Nintendo but points out that Sony have a innovative controller as well, technology doesnt go backwards and the Wii is a re purposed gamecube

- Sony views the world through the eyes of an engineer while Nintendo takes its cues from the outside world (eg. Pikmin from Miyamoto’s garden)

FUTURE
- Nintendo could stick with the current tech for a few years and then introduce a Wii 2.0 with PS3 tech but cheap

- cut $50 of Wii price to compete with future price cuts for MS and Sony

- relationship between Mac/PC - iTune - iPod could be like Wii - DS

- needs more stock, did not expect Wii to be so popular….currently making 1M a month but want 1.5M - 2M but its difficult

QUOTES
We were losing to the TV remote. So we thought what kind of controller can we create that wont make people afraid to touch it? - Miyamoto

We are not competing against Sony or Microsoft. We are battling the indifference of people who have no interest in video games - Iwata

My name is Reggie. I’m about kickin’ ass, I’m about takin’ names, and we’re about makin’ games” - you know who

The company says its rush to deliver Wii launch titles resulted in quality issues; promises better games to come. (more…)

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

Ubisoft: Games for Everyone Video

GameTrailers Updates:

• Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 “baseball challenge”
• Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 “carrot spitting”
• My Word Coach DS to Wii connectivity
• Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 trailer
• Shrek the Third TV spot
• Rayman Raving Rabbids “burger serving”
• Rayman Raving Rabbids “rodeo demo”
• Cosmic Family trailer
• Tomb Raider Anniversary “enter the tyrant”

GameVideos Updates:

• Mario Paint “Sonic theme”
• Mario Paint “Tetris theme”
• Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 “transform”
• Carnival Games trailer

GameSpot Updates:

• Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 becomes Wii, DS exclusive
• Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 interview
• Rayman Raving Rabbids multiplayer demo hands-on
• My Word Coach Wii screens
• Horsez 2 Wii screens
• Cosmic Family screens
• Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 Wii screens
• Boogie trailer 2
• Carnival Games hands-on
• The Bigs hands-on

  IGN Updates:

• Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 hands-on
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl screens
• Ubisoft announces Horsez 2 Wii
• Wireless axes confirmed for Guitar Hero III
• Cosmic Family comes to Wii
• ESRB updates
• 35 Million Wiis by 2012?
• Harry Potter developer diary videos
• Mario Party 8 videos
• Paper Mario headed to VC?

Paris, FRANCE — May 21, 2007 — Today Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, announced that it is expanding its casual video game business. Ubisoft has made significant investments and formed an internal development structure dedicated to the creation of games for everyone. Among the first projects of the new team are the introduction of the new “My Coach” product line and the significant expansion of the already successful Petz® franchise.

“Ubisoft has a proven track record of publishing and creating video games for non-traditional gaming audiences, with multimillion-selling brands like Petz and Rayman,” said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer at Ubisoft. “The timing is right for us to leverage our creativity and to open up the video games market to new consumers who will be attracted by content that can help them learn, grow and feel better in an entertaining way.”

Ubisoft’s new casual games structure will be led by Pauline Jacquey, executive producer of casual games at Ubisoft. Pauline joined Ubisoft in 1998, working as a producer on some of Ubisoft’s best-selling brands including Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon® and Rayman®. Ubisoft will also continue to partner with third-party developers to publish casual game titles for the mass market.

“Ubisoft’s vision for this business is unique,” said Pauline Jacquey. “We are developing projects that make people feel that playing games is worth their while, allowing them to spend quality time with family and friends, learn a new skill, or improve their daily lives.

By creating games with real-life benefits, we are creating games that appeal to everyone.”

The “My Coach” series of games will allow players to improve themselves and learn in an interactive and stimulating way. The first two games in the line are “My Word Coach” and “My Life Coach.” “My Word Coach,” is being developed in collaboration with linguists and will help players improve their verbal communication and vocabulary in a fun way. “My Word Coach” can be played alone or with friends on Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ and will be released in Fall 2007. “My Life Coach” is being developed in collaboration with a behaviorist. “My Life Coach” is a personal coach that gives anybody concerned about their well being the willpower they need to change their habits the way they want in a motivating and fun way. “My Life Coach” will be available for the Nintendo DS in Holiday 2007.

Ubisoft will also continue to grow its extremely successful Petz® line of games and allow young players to learn how to take care of that special cat, dog or horse on their Wii for the first time. The Petz series sold more than 3.5 million units worldwide in fiscal year 2006-07.

More About: Ubisoft, My Coach