The Leipzig Games Convention, held annually since August 2002, will be moving to Cologne in 2009 and rebranded GAMESCom.

The German Federal Association for Entertainment Software (BUI), creators of the Games Convention, have announced there is to be no further support for GC Leipzig from 2009, with the creation of a new consumer show based in Cologne in the East of Germany as replacement. This would allow the show to further expand, as it has been over the years to become the largest consumer show in the world.

Electronic Arts pushes buy-out offer on Take-Two Interactive.

For weeks, there have been rumors speculating that Take-Two Interactive would be subject to an acquisition bid. Many thought Viacom would seek to buy them out at a one-time price of $1.5 billion. It turns out Electronic Arts wants Take-Two shareholders to part at $25 a share, roughly a $2 billion... Read more...

Miis return to the Kodak Theatre.

Wii fans everywhere must have smiled tonight as Jon Stewart and Jamia Nash, a young

singer from the film August Rush, spent a few seconds volleying

the tennis ball in Wii Sports, projected on a huge screen at the 80th

Academy Awards. Stewart wrapped up the game and returned to his hosting

duties by questioning whether he should be out of breath from playing

Hardcore and casual battle for the top spot!

Another great week for Super Smash Bros Brawl, it’s already looking like it will match Wii Fit’s sales within one or two weeks. Apart from Brawl, sales were pretty low all round this week. Even the latest Naruto game on Nintendo DS only managed a meagre 17,000 units.

Meanwhile Super Mario Galaxy moved further down the charts to No. 28.

Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Pay & Play will be Nintendo's version of micro-transactions. Also, find out what Nintendo is doing to address Wii's storage space problem. (Hint: Nothing).

Nintendo announced today that it will soon add WiiWare games and pay-to-play content to Wii's Wi-Fi connection service.

The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Pay & Play service will allow users to spend Wii Points to purchase content or services for Wii games, extending the capability and longevity of... Read more...

The main man behind Super Smash Bros. Brawl reveals his technique for modeling and balancing the roster of characters, revealing some interesting secrets along the way.

In one of the more anticipated sessions during GDC week, Masahiro Sakurai of Sora, Ltd. gave a revealing look into the thought process and design of the character roster in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which will be releasd in North America on March 9th.

Sakurai kicked things off by showing... Read more...

The two gaming legends discuss the creations that spawned an industry. Also, hear what the creator of Pong thinks of the Wii.

Ralph Baer, inventor of the Brown Box game system, and Al Alcorn, creator of Pong, entertained a crowd of onlookers at Game Developers Conference eager to see how the two industry icons spawned a video game revolution.

Baer kicked off the hour-long session with a lengthy introduction to his background... Read more...

One of Japan's most respected composers talks about the creative process in making soundtracks for games like Killer 7 and Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles. Also, a smashing surprise visit by Brawl.

Masafumi Takada of Grasshopper has had his hand in a number of unique video games over the past ten years. While working with names like Shinji Mikami and Goichi Suda, Takada's have become fairly well known. Today, during his Game Developers Conference session, Takada explained the processes and challenges associated with working on games, and what he does to translate the visual style of games into appropriate music.

Among the first games are International Karate and Uridium.

Nintendo has announced that the Commodore 64 will be added to the European Virtual Console's expanding roster of formats. Games for the classic home computer system will be available on the Wii Shop Channel for 500 Wii points (£3.50) each, equaling the price of NES games.

International Karate,... Read more...

Two of Nintendo's biggest 2008 titles will launch within two weeks of each other for PAL gamers; the wait for Brawl goes on without a date.

Nintendo has announced that Mario Kart Wii will be coming to Europe on April 11th, to be followed by the release of Wii Fit just two weeks later on April 25th.

Widely considered to be two of the most crucial first party Wii titles launching in Western territories during 2008, both games will... Read more...

The game music-based concert returns to San Francisco.

VIDEO GAMES LIVE™ ANNOUNCES SPECIAL GUESTS FOR ANNUAL GDC PERFORMANCE IN SAN FRANCISCO

Skywalker Symphony Orchestra and Choir to Perform

Meet & Greet Includes 30 Game Composers, Designers and Talent From Popular Franchises Including Halo, Warcraft, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, Myst, Kingdom Hearts, Metroid Prime, Mass Effect, Guitar Hero, BioShock, Gears of War, Crysis, Sonic, Special Guests from Japan and Many More!

Phantasy Star II and Ninja Gaiden III make up another good week for the VC.

Two New Classic Games Added To Wii Shop Channel

Feb. 18, 2008

Some gamers get skeptical when Roman numerals populate the title of a game. But make no mistake - this week's offerings are no mere sequels. They are some of the most highly regarded classic games around. So stock up on some Wii Points™ to battle the Dark Force or complete an action-packed trilogy.

In software sales, five of the top ten games are on Nintendo platforms.

2008 starts off with a virtual dead heat for console hardware sales, with all charted platforms selling within 50,000 units of each other:

January 2008 U.S. Hardware Sales

Wii – 274k

PlayStation 3 – 269k

PlayStation 2 – 264k

Nintendo DS – 251k

PlayStation Portable – 230k

Xbox 360 – 230k

Rehab centers plug in the Wii with results.

Nintendo's Wii system has seen increasing use in hospitals. Some health care professionals are calling it "Wiihabilitation."

"They think it's for entertainment, but we know it's for therapy," said Lt. Col. Stephanie Daugherty, chief of occupational therapy at Walter Reed Hospital. She believes the Wii is a powerful tool in physical rehabilitation.

Smash Bros. Brawl beats out two balance board games.

This week saw things return to normal, with seven out of the top ten games being on Nintendo platforms. Super Smash Bros. Brawl clocked up one million in sales as expected, which it managed in just eleven days. That makes it the fastest-selling Wii game on record to reach that number, beating out even Wii Fit, which managed it in seven weeks. It will be interesting to see if Brawl will be able to sustain those huge sales in the long run.

Death Jr.: Root of Evil, starring the Grim Reaper's teenage son, is due out in the summer.

Eidos Interactive announce Death Jr. : Root Of Evil

Eidos Interactive Ltd., one of the world’s leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, has confirmed that Death Jr.: Root of Evil, a spine-tingling, humorous platform shooter from developer Backbone Entertainment, will be released on Nintendo Wii in summer 2008.

Nancy Drew: The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society promises new adventures and mysteries, and a new cell phone for Nancy.

The Teen Sleuth Is Back On The Case In Majesco Entertainment's New 'Nancy Drew: The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society' For Nintendo DS

EDISON, NJ, February 12, 2008 – The world’s most recognizable teen super-sleuth returns in a riveting new Nintendo DS™ adventure, as Majesco Entertainment... Read more...

Create your own personal universe in a box, or on your DS.

EA and Maxis to Ship Spore in September

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 12, 2008--Get ready for the next Big Bang this fall! Electronic Arts Inc. and Maxis today announced that Spore™, the highly anticipated game from the creators of The Sims™, will be available at retailers worldwide the weekend of September 7. Spore will be available for the PC, Macintosh, Nintendo DS™, and mobile phones.

New installment of My Coach series will feature a variety of ways to lose weight and track your progress.

Ubisoft Announces My Weight Loss Coach

SAN FRANCISCO — February 11, 2008 — Today Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, announced that it will publish My Weight Loss Coach for the Nintendo DS™ system. Developed in Ubisoft’s Montreal studio under the guidance of... Read more...

Nerf and The Littlest Pet Shop will hit Nintendo's console in the future.

EA ANNOUNCES FIRST HASBRO TITLES IN DEVELOPMENT – PLAYERS CAN COLLECT, BLAST, DEAL OR SPELL THEIR WAY TO VIDEO GAME FUN

LITTLEST PET SHOP, NERF, MONOPOLY and YAHTZEE among first franchises to hit a variety of game systems, online and mobile under EA and Hasbro agreement

Chertsey, UK –... Read more...