Numerous reports of failing straps cause Nintendo to issue free replacements.

It's been just shy of a month since Wii made its world-wide debut in North America, and the console seems to be doing quite well by standard measurements. However, the launch has not been without its hic-ups. A few software bugs in the form of an obscure Zelda show-stopper and slightly unstable... Read more...

Seven games and six control configurations await you in this collection of two-dimensional shooters.

Metal Slug Anthology ships for Wii™

Comprehensive Collection Includes Seven Titles from SNK PLAYMORE Hit Arcade Franchise

Wall, NJ - Dec 14, 2006 SNK PLAYMORE USA CORPORATION, the U.S. publishing arm of the SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION, announced today that METAL SLUG ANTHOLOGY for Wii™ is shipping to retailers across North America.

Game is a resurrection of an old Sega arcade title and has no connection with the previously announced Alien movie franchise games.

SEGA’S 'ALIEN SYNDROME' VENTURING ONTO THE WII AND PSP® SYSTEM

Action-RPG Meets Fast-Paced Sci-Fi in an All-New Adventure

SAN FRANCISCO and LONDON (December 12, 2006) – SEGA® of America, Inc. and SEGA Europe, Ltd. today announced they will be publishing Alien Syndrome, a fast-paced... Read more...

Square Enix reveals the U.S. name of their next big DS release.

Today, Square Enix's Slime Knights website revealed that the game's U.S. title will apparently be Dragon Quest IX: Defenders of the Skies.

They also reveal a few gameplay hints, describing the 4-Player Wi-Fi gameplay as likely being "active battles with characters...controlling their own movement.... Read more...

Naruto 4 and Jump Super Stars are on the twin retailers' DS game listing.

Importing games from Japan has always been a gray area in the world of retail videogames. Even with the game region-free Nintendo DS and PSP, companies like Nintendo and Sony tend to frown upon consumers getting games and hardware from different countries.

It's surprising, then, to see that... Read more...

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 will be coming out in Europe next March. It will also include six extra characters and one new battle arena that aren't present in the NA release.

European Release Of First Next-Generation Dragon Ball Z Game

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 for WiiTM Scheduled for March 2007 European Release

LYON, FRANCE – 12 December 2006 – Atari Europe today announced that Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 for Wii is scheduled for European... Read more...

One of the most original Wii launch window titles is on its way to stores.

Konami’s First Game for the Wii Exudes Innovation with Groundbreaking Control Scheme, Unique Gameplay and Memorable Characters

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – December 12, 2006 – Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced it has shipped Elebits™ exclusively for the Wii™ to retail... Read more...

The rundown on today's Virtual Console releases.

Today saw the release of four games for the Virtual Console: two for the Sega Genesis, and one each for Turbo Grafx 16 and Nintendo Entertainment System. Today's games are:

Alien Crush for the Turbo Grafx 16

Originally released in 1989, Alien Crush is a single player pinball game developed by Hudson Soft with an extraterrestrial theme.

DS version delayed until March.

RAYMAN RAVING RABBIDS(TM) INVADES STORES FOR THE PLAYSTATION®2 COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM, GAME BOY® ADVANCE AND WINDOWS® PC

SAN FRANCISCO - DECEMBER 11, 2006 - Today Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announced Rayman Raving Rabbids(TM), the fourth installment... Read more...

The Twentieth Century Fox property isn't tied to a system (or systems) yet - games coming in 2009.

SEGA AND TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX LICENSING & MERCHANDISING TO BRING ALIEN FRANCHISE TO NEXT-GEN SYSTEMS

Newest License Underscores Key Strategy for SEGA Growth While Reinvigorating Classic Fan Favorite

SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON (December 11, 2006) – SEGA® of America Inc., SEGA® Europe Ltd.... Read more...

The famed RPG series goes handheld in a surprise announcement.

Square-Enix held a press conference today in Japan to discuss the future of their twenty year old Dragon Quest franchise. Subtitled "Hoshizora no Mamori Hito," which translates to "One Who Protects the Starry Sky," the game was speculated to be released on PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Wii. It turns out that the next Dragon Quest game, number nine in the main series, is under development for Nintendo DS.

Nintendo of Europe provides a free Flash platformer to promote their products.

Mission in Snowdriftland is a Flash-based platformer starring a snowman named Chubby Snow made available thanks to Nintendo of Europe. A Nintendo-sponsored game on a non-Nintendo platform is a nice surprise. Developed by German media company Extra Toxic, the game includes 24 full levels. Levels are selected from an Advent calendar, with one new level made available each day from Dec 1st to 24th.

NOE reveals their Virtual Console release schedule for the rest of the year.

Nintendo of Europe has announced their Virtual Console release schedule for the rest of the year. Besides the fifteen previously announced games, two SNES games and three TurboGrafx games have been newly revealed. Europeans can expect six to eight games each week.

The pair of new SNES games... Read more...

Gunstar Heroes, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, and Alien Crush confirmed so far. Update: You can add Ice Hockey for NES to that list.

Update: Nintendo has also added Ice Hockey for NES to this week's new releases.

Both Sega and Hudson have spilled the mean beans about their contributions to tomorrow's Virtual Console update. Hudson's website lists just Alien Crush so far, but Sega's Virtual Console page not only lists Gunstar Heroes and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine as tomorrow's releases, but also details their Virtual Console schedule through the end of the year:

The first wrestling game for Wii is based on the Spike TV show.

A Midway PR Rep confirmed to us today that TNA iMPACT, a wrestling game based on the TNA Wrestling show on Spike TV, will be coming to all next-gen consoles, including Wii. A trailer for the game will be featured at SpikeTV's upcoming Video Game Awards show, aired Wednesday, December 13th, although this trailer will most likely not focus on the Wii version. It will be available for viewing on Thursday night at http://www.tnawrestling.com.

Stars can be gained by registering Nintendo products online and purchasing a Wii.

Eurogamer reported yesterday that European Wii players will be able to use Stars to redeem Wii Points for Virtual Console use. Stars are points that accumulate on a Nintendo-Europe.com account when a player purchases Nintendo products and registers them online. EuroGamer says that Stars even come with your purchase of a Wii, and can be gained by purchasing Virtual Console games and taking a short survey.

It's time! Find out what happened at the Nintendo sponsored midnight launch in London early this morning.

I've been writing for what used to be PGC since before the GameCube was launched. That time around I saw all of the pre-release material but didn't actually make it to the launch. That made this Wii launch my first, so it was exciting to go to cover the event even though I won't be buying one yet, mainly due to time constraints in the coming year.

Wii sells "nearly" half-a-million; DS "almost" a million. New Zelda game sells to "nearly" 9 in 10 Wii buyers. CORRECTED.

UPDATE: The following day, Nintendo corrected this press release by deleting one sentence. We have struck through it but left in the text so you can compare the original and corrected versions.

Wii-MARKABLE! November Sales Show Nintendo Hardware Systems Outsell All Others Combined

REDMOND,... Read more...

A magazine advertisement reveals the official title for the game and announces that it will be playable at Jump Festa 2007.

While we have known that a Crystal Chronicles game for DS has existed for quite a while, there has been very limited information revealed about the title. That will all change next weekend at Jump Festa 2007 in Tokyo, December 16-17.

The Game|Life blog over at Wired has a scan of a magazine... Read more...

Publisher of game Lifesigns: Hospital Affairs announces focus on casual gamers.

In a notice sent to press today, Austrian game publisher Jowood Productions revealed that previously announced DS game Lifesigns: Hospital Affairs would be a flagship title for its new "G-Stars" casual gaming line. The publisher has created the G-Stars brand as a way of reaching out to female and family-oriented audiences. Their method is to release games in three categories: fun, action, and sports.