Some of the latest news of the AP and Reuters wires:

Nintendo Scores Big In Year-End Profits

Nintendo reported a 40 percent rise in profits during the last quarter in which it moved 3.19 Wii’s over the holiday season. Nintendo didn’t break down their quarterly figures completely, but did note a group net profit of 131.9 billion yen ($1.1 billion) from the period from April to December.

Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa said it had met its target of 4 million units shipped by the end of 2006 as that number had been manufactured and were still getting distributed. He also said said the company is on track to reach its target sales of 6 million Wiis by the end of March.

Sony to Launch Only High End PS3 In Europe

Sony said it will launch its latest entry into the console wars, the Playstation 3, in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand on March 23 on March 23 but there will be no basic unit available for those who don’t want to pay for the more expensive Wi-Fi enabled model.

“We will focus on the launch of the one with a 60 gigabyte drive and have no plan now to introduce the 20 gigabyte model,” Sony Computer Entertainment spokesman Satoshi Fukuoka said.

Sony had already delayed the European launch because of shortages due to production problems. Market analysts believe that the decision to focus on the 60 GB model may be because it’s outselling the 20 GB model in North America and Japan. The unit will sell for It will sell for 599 euros, approximately $776.

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Samuel J. Klein, director of content for the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative, will keynote the second day of the Serious Games Summit GDC 2007 (SGS GDC) March 5-6 in San Francisco. Klein’s presentation will explore the potential of the OLPC initiative as a serious gaming platform to address the educational and practical applications of videogames.

The non-profit OLPC designs, manufactures and distributes inexpensive laptops with the goal of giving every child in the world access to a modern education. Klein’s keynote speech shall focus on the hardware, operating system, and game development support the laptops that will debut later this year. Klein will also address the strategies for learning through play that the OLPC team is formulating.

“We are excited to have the charismatic S.J. Klein helm the second day of proceedings at this year’s SGS GDC,” said Ben Sawyer, co-founder, Digitalmill, and SGS GDC content chair. “Education is a key component within the serious games industry, and the dedicated and creative team at OLPC is working to conquer the technology divide in education and access to information.”

“S.J. represents a powerfully altruistic movement in the technology industry, and offers game developers a compelling opportunity to effect positive change in the world,” said Jamil Moledina, executive director of the GDC. “The OLPC platform offers access to not only practical game development, but the ability to extend the online discourse and interactivity we all take for granted to isolated and impoverished children all over the planet.”

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The 2nd Annual Canadian Awards for the Electronic and Animated Arts (CAEAA) will be held this November and will be looking to draw worldwide participation. Along with Event Partners Ernst & Young, Electronic Arts (EA), Autodesk and the British Columbia Provincial Government, the CAEAA is inviting video game and animation companies, students and educators from around the world to participate in the 2007 Elans.

“EA is always excited to support animators, artists and designers in the growing videogame industry across Canada,” said Ron Moravek, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for EA Canada. “We think this is a great opportunity for many of the very talented people making games in this country to be recognized for their innovative and breakthrough work.”
Last year’s Elans only honored Canadian content, but the 2007 Elans are billed to include International Award Categories determined by worldwide industry input which will be announced on March 4, 2007.

“The Canadian industry was nearly unanimous in its desire to include international competition into these awards as a way of further validating their role in this multi-billion dollar industry,” the CAEAA said in a press release.

The 2007 Elans ceremony are scheduled to take place Nov. 2nd at The Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts. The CAEAA expects to triple the attendance of the first awards by hosting over 2000 invited guests.

“As the Movie Industry goes to Hollywood for its Oscars, so will the world of Video Gaming and Animation come to Canada for their Elans.

Expected attendance won’t be the only area in which the event will grow. The CAEAA has also announced a second day of activities for attendees named the CAEAA Industry Event (CIV.) The CIV will be co-hosted by Ernst & Young as well as the International Gaming Development Association (IGDA) at the The Sutton Place Hotel Nov. 3. The event has described by the CAEAA as offering “CEOs and their staff from Video Gaming, Animation and New Media Schools, both big and small, the opportunity to meet in person and ‘talk business’.”

A party Vancouver Art Gallery to close out festivities is planned for that evening with working art from animation and video game projects on auction for charity.

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This Week’s Releases:

InuYasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel - DS (E/10)

Legend of Heroes III: Song of the Ocean - PSP (E/10)

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 - DS (T)

Sid Meier’s Pirates! - PSP (T)

Europa Universalis III - PC (E)

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Wii Virtual Console

Underground Pool - DS (E)

Rocky Balboa - PSP (T)

The Shield - PC (M)

Fossil League: Dino Tournament Championship - DS (E)

Sam & Max Episode 3: The Mole, the Mob and the Meatball -PC (T)

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The following news story is courtesy of AFP:

Video Games New Hot Spot for Music

CANNES, FRANCE (AFP) - Live music and Internet-based social networking sites YouTube and MySpace are helping break new music acts — but video games are the latest new cool music space.

Video game music is cutting-edge and “the video game music world today feels exciting,” legendary US music figure Nile Rodgers, who is behind a string of smash hit video games, told a Music For Images conference at the MIDEM music mart here.

“It’s a great way of breaking new artists,” Joseph Stopps of independent UK-based dance music company, MofoHifi, told AFP.

One of MofoHifi’s artists, electronic dance group Young Punks, won a heap of new fans when a band track was picked for EA Sports’ FIFA Soccer Xbox game.

Video games, like radio, have the big advantage being repetitious, Rodgers told a packed conference hall of music, film and digital professionals attending this week’s annual MIDEM global trade fair for the music industry.

“It’s difficult to be introduced to new music without radio as it’s the repetition that sells and what’s more repetitious than a video game,” Rodgers emphasized.

A 1970s star with disco/funk band Chic, Rodgers went on to produce hit albums for stars including Debbie Harry and David Bowie before being drawn into the video game world when he set up Something Else Music Works (SEMW).

He teamed up with Microsoft in 2002 and went on to turn out soundtracks for a string of smash hit video games that include Halo:Combat Evolved, Age of Mythology, Brute Force and Outlaw Volleyball.

The music for images business is thriving across the film, television and gaming worlds, attracting increasing attention from the music world, which is suffering to survive in a world of declining CD sales.

Expectations are also high that as the games industry moves forward, people will be able to buy tracks online on their gaming consoles.

For some of the executives in the music business, games, which tend to be popular with music fans, have the potential to become the new radio in introducing new music to enthusiasts.

“You could argue that they (games) have replaced that function of radio to some degree,” Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s music licensing and A&R manager Sergio Pimental told MIDEM. But the real difference, he said, was that with radio “you can multi-task while listening to it, whereas playing a game demands to be active to become involved.”

Rodgers encouraged budding game composers to try and get into movies as well. Hip-hop act Organized Noize is one example of video-game composers who produced the score for Hollywood hit movie “Miami Vice”.

But video game music, Rodgers acknowledged, is not yet being taken seriously because it is associated with leisure.

“It’s a perception problem,” he said. “Film is considered an art form but because people play video games, they don’t realize that the different components are artistic.”

Yet composing for games is one of the most creative mediums around at the moment, Alistair Lindsay, music manager at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe told MIDEM.

“You’re creating music that is a huge jigsaw puzzle and its quite a magical experience,” Lindsay enthused. “Getting music to kick in at the right time is a real challenge.”

Big music hits that have come out of video games include the Motown-released B-Boy - The Soundtrack, a break-dancing game for PS2 and PSP.

Activision, the USA’’s second largest games publisher, is running a listening session at the French Riviera trade fair for the third year running that it said has produced some amazing music in the past. Last year’s winner made it into Tony Hawk’’s Project 8 and is also being used in the TV spot for the game

Pope Denounces Violent Games

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday deplored animated cartoons and video games intended for children that “exalt violence” or “trivialize human sexuality.”

“Any trend to produce programs and products — including animated films and video games — which in the name of entertainment exalt violence and portray anti-social behavior or the trivialization of human sexuality is a perversion,” the pope said.

Such media are “all the more repulsive when … directed at children and adolescents,” Benedict added in a message marking World Social Communications Day.

The pontiff lamented that sometimes “commercial competitiveness (compels) communicators to lower standards” of television programs, films and video games aimed at young people.

“How could one explain this entertainment’ to the countless innocent young people who actually suffer violence, exploitation and abuse?” he asked.

The pope said the media industry should help parents to inculcate in their children “fundamental human dignity, the true value of marriage and family life, and the positive achievements and goals of humanity.”

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Gamespot.com has picked out their selections for their Most Wanted Awards for 2007. The site has a run down of the list with editors comments and a video discussion of the list. Here’s a quick rundown of the list itself:

God of War II (PS2)
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (PC)
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
Forza Motorsport 2 (Xbox 360)
Mass Effect (Xbox 360)
Crackdown (Xbox 360)
Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
Burnout 5 (working title) Xbox 360 | PS3
Tomb Raider: Anniversary (PS2)
BioShock (PC) | (Xbox 360)
Spore (PC)
Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
Half-Life 2: Episode Two (PC) | (Xbox 360) | (PS3)

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Don’t think the movie and music industries are the only people rolling out the red carpet and handing out hardware this winter. The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) announced the nominations for the 10th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards — The industry equivalent to th Grammys or Oscars.

Leading the list of nominees is Gears of War with ten nods, including Overall Game of the Year and Console Game of the Year. Other leading nomination getters include The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion with eight and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess with six. Both games will also compete for Overall Game of the Year along with Wii Sports and Guitar Hero II.

Here’s the complete list of nominees:

Overall Game of the Year:
Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
Wii Sports (Nintendo/Nintendo)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Guitar Hero 2 (Harmonix/Activision/Red Octane)
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks/2K Games)

Console Game of the Year:
Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Wii Sports (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Guitar Hero 2 (Harmonix/Activision/Red Octane)
Viva Piñata (Rare/Microsoft Game Studios)

Computer Game of the Year:
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks/2K Games)
Company of Heroes (Relic/THQ)
Battlefield 2142 (D.I.C.E./Electronic Arts)
Prey (Human Head Games/2K Games)
Age of Empires III: The Warchiefs (Ensemble Studios/Microsoft Game Studios)

Outstanding Innovation in Gaming:
Wii Sports (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
Viva Piñata (Rare/Microsoft Game Studios)
LocoRoco (Sony Computer Entertainment/Sony Computer Entertainment)

Handheld Game of the Year:
LocoRoco (Sony Computer Entertainment/Sony Computer Entertainment)
Elite Beat Agents (Nintendo/Nintendo)
New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (TT Games/Lucas Arts)

Outstanding Achievement in Animation
Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
Daxter (ReadyatDawn/Sony Computer Entertainment)
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (TT Games/Lucas Arts)
Rayman Raving Rabidds (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)
Fight Night Round 3 (EA Sports/Electronic Arts)

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix/Square Enix)
Call of Duty 3 (Treyarch/Activision)
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
Viva Piñata (Rare/Microsoft Game Studios)

Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack
Guitar Hero 2 (Harmonix/Activision/Red Octane)
SingStar Rocks! (Sony Computer Entertainment London/Sony Computer Entertainment)
FIFA ‘07 (Electronic Arts Canada/Electronic Arts)
Marc Ecko’s Getting Up (The Collective/Atari)
Scarface (Radical Entertainment/Sierra Entertainment)

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
Call of Duty 3 (Treyarch/Activision)
LocoRoco (Sony Computer Entertainment/Sony Computer Entertainment)
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks/2K Games)
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Ubisoft Shanghai/Ubisoft)
Black (Criterion Games/Electronic Arts)

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
Call of Duty 3 (Treyarch/Activision)
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks/2K Games)
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Redstorm Studios/Ubisoft Paris/Ubisoft)
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Ubisoft Shanghai/Ubisoft)
Company of Heroes (Relic/THQ)

Outstanding Character Performance - Male
Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent(Ubisoft Shanghai/Ubisoft)
Bully (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Games)
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (TT Games/Lucas Arts)
Daxter (ReadyatDawn/Sony Computer Entertainment)

Outstanding Achievement in Character Performance - Female
Saints Row (Volition/THQ)
Desperate Housewives (Liquid Entertainment/Buena Vista Games)
Viva Piñata (Rare/Microsoft Game Studios)
Bully (Rockstar Games/Rockstar Games)
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks/2K Games)

Outstanding Achievement in Story and Character Development
Sam & Max Episode 1: Culture Shock (GameTap/Telltale Games)
Saints Row (Volition/THQ)
24: The Game (Sony Online Entertainment/2K Games)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (Funcom/Aspyr)

Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering
Wii Sports (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks/2K Games)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
Company of Heroes (Relic/THQ)

Outstanding Achievement in Online Game Play
Call of Duty 3 (Treyarch/Activision)
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Redstorm Studios/Ubisoft Paris/Ubisoft)
Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
Chromehounds (From Software/Sega of America)
Battlefield 2142 (D.I.C.E./Electronic Arts)

Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering
Viva Piñata (Rare/Microsoft Game Studios)
Resistance: Fall of Man (Insomniac Games/Sony Computer Entertainment)
Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
Call of Duty 3 (Treyarch/Activision)
Company of Heroes (Relic/THQ)

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
Wii Sports (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks/2K Games)
Company of Heroes (Relic/THQ)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Nintendo Brain Age (Nintendo/Nintendo)

Sports Game of the Year
Tony Hawk’s Project 8 (Neversoft Entertainment/Activision)
MLB ‘06: The Show (SCEA SD Sports Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment)
NBA 2K7 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports)
FIFA ‘07 (Electronic Arts Canada/Electronic Arts)
NBA ‘07 (SCEA SD Sports Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment)

Strategy Game of the Year
Company of Heroes (Relic/THQ)
Star Wars: Empire at War (Petroglyph/Lucas Arts)
Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II (Electronic Arts/Electronic Arts)
Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends (Big Huge Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
Medieval II: Total War (Creative Assembly/Sega of America)

First-Person Action Game of the Year
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
Resistance: Fall of Man (Insomniac Games/Sony Computer Entertainment)
Prey (Human Head Games/2K Games)
Half Life 2: Episode 1 (Valve/Electronic Arts)
Black (Criterion Games/Electronic Arts)

Fighting Game of the Year
Fight Night Round 3 (EA Sports/Electronic Arts)
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Midway/Midway)
WWE Smackdown! Vs. Raw 2006 (Yuke’s Co. Ltd./THQ)
Tekken Dark Ressurection (Namco/Namco)

Racing Game of the Year
Test Drive Unlimited (Eden Studios/Atari)
Burnout Revenge (Criterion Games/Electronic Arts)
Excite Truck (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Full Auto 2: Battlelines (Pseudo Interactive/Sega of America)
Need for Speed: Carbon (Black Box/Electronic Arts)

Role-Playing Game of the Year
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks/2K Games)
Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix/Square Enix)
Final Fantasy III DS (Square Enix/Square Enix)
Titan Quest (Iron Lore Entertainment/THQ)
Phantasy Star Universe (Sonic Team/Sega of America)

Children’s Game of the Year
LocoRoco (Sony Computer Entertainment/Sony Computer Entertainment)
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team (The Pokemon Co./CHUNSOFT Co./Nintendo)
Disney’s Kim Possible: What’s the Switch (A2M/Buena Vista Games)
Over the Hedge (Edge of Reality/Activision)
Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning (Krome Studios/Sierra Entertainment)

Action/Adventure Game of the Year
Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Ubisoft Shanghai/Ubisoft)
Saints Row (Volition/THQ)
Daxter (ReadyatDawn/Sony Computer Entertainment)

Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year
Eve Online: Revelations (CCP Games/CCP Games)
Guild Wars: Nightfall (Arena Net/NCsoft)
Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach (Turbine/Atari/Wizards of the Coast)
Auto Assault (Net Devil/NCsoft)

Family Game of the Year
Rayman Raving Rabidds (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)
Viva Piñata (Rare/Microsoft Game Studios)
Guitar Hero 2 (Harmonix/Activision/Red Octane)
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (TT Games/Lucas Arts)
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (Nintendo/Nintendo)

Simulation Game of the Year
Microsoft Flight Simulator X (Microsoft Game Studios/Microsoft Game Studios)
Sid Meier’s Railroads! (Firaxis Games/2K Games)
Tourist Trophy (Polyphony Digital, Inc./Sony Computer Entertainment)

Downloadable Game of the Year
Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspects (Big Fish Games/Big Fish Games)
Virtual Villagers: A New Home (Last Day of Work/Big Fish Games)
Diner Dash: Flo on the Go (Playfirst/Playfirst)
Bookworm Adventures (PopCap/PopCap)
Plantasia (Playfirst/Playfirst)

Mobile Game of the Year
Orcs & Elves (Fountainhead Entertainment/Electronic Arts Mobile)
Tropical Madness (Gameloft/Gameloft)
Duckshot (MoFactor/Hands-On Mobile)
Brothers in Arms 3D (Gameloft)

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The date is Dec. 28, 1979. Disgraced New York detective Kyle Hyde checks into the seedy Hotel Dusk in Los Angeles and suddenly finds himself embroiled in a 30-year-old murder mystery. This is the story of Hotel Dusk: Room 215, available exclusively for the portable Nintendo DS on Jan. 24. The dual screens of a player’s Nintendo DS display stylized sketch animation evoking a comic-book-like film noir. Conversations with more than a dozen characters help players piece together different story elements as the mystery deepens. Players decide where the story goes next by weighing their options and tapping their decision on the touch screen using the stylus.

“Hotel Dusk: Room 215 could be considered a new genre for both video games and storytelling,” explains George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. “Just as audio books brought the printed word to a new medium, so does this new ‘video game book.’ ”

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 features deep characters, grown-up themes and an engrossing plot. It has more in common with a gritty crime novel than a video game, and appeals to mystery lovers and video game fans alike. As the plot develops, players must make choices before they begin each conversation, like deciding whether to strong-arm a subject or play it cool. Players hold the portable Nintendo DS system sideways like a book, and the touch-screen controls make it easy for newcomers to pick up and play, even if they have never played a video game before. Nintendo’s aim is to expand the world of video games to new audiences through creative new interfaces. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 is available on Jan. 24, and is Rated T for Teen. For more information about the mystery, visit HotelDusk.com.

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Square Enix Ltd. announced today the March launch of the forthcoming German and French service of Final Fantasy XI. In early March Square will offer a language conversion download that will make it possible to play FFXI in French or German free of charge via PlayOnline. This will only be available for those using the EU version of FFXI on the PC or Xbox 360. The display language is automatically changed to the current Windows/Xbox 360 settings when the PlayOnline Viewer is activated. It will still be possible to switch between languages, including English.

From late March a new all-in-one package of Final Fantasy XI will be released in Europe for new players allowing play in German, French or English. Square Enix will announce more details at a later date.

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