Game News: November 14, 2006

Nintendo to ship 400,000 Wii units for Japan debut (Reuters)
   Reuters - Nintendo Co. Ltd. said on Wednesday it will ship almost 400,000 units of its new Wii game console for its Japan launch on December 2, offering four times as many machines as Sony Corp. did for its PlayStation 3 debut last week.

So Many Game Consoles: Which to Buy? (PC World)
   PC World - In a multiconsole world, how do you know whether the Nintendo Wii, the Sony PlayStation 3, or the Microsoft Xbox 360 is the one for you? Here's our advice.

PlayStation 3 won't run some older games (AP)
   

AP - Sony's new PlayStation 3 can't play some of the games designed for previous generations of the popular console, the latest misstep for the stumbling electronics company as it faces off in a crucial, three-way war with Nintendo and Microsoft.

High Hopes For PlayStation 3, Wii (Investor's Business Daily)
   Investor's Business Daily - Next-generation video game consoles from Sony and Nintendo are sure to generate a lot of excitement this holiday season.

Superman Returns the Video Game Xbox 360 Demo Hits the Market Place Wednesday
   

Attention all fans of the man of steel, EA announced that the Demo for Superman the Video Game will hit the Xbox 360 Marketplace in the morning.

Sonic the Hedgehog for the Xbox 360 Shipped to Retail Stores
   

SEGA of America Inc. and SEGA Europe Ltd. today announced that Sonic The Hedgehog has shipped in North America for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system. Celebrating his 15th anniversary this year, Sonic The Hedgehog brings his fast feet and feisty attitude to new next generation heights in his most intense, high velocity adventure yet. The game will also ship for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system this holiday season.

Rainbow Six Vegas now Gold and Ready to Ship
   

Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announced that Rainbow Six Vegas for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft has gone gold and will ship to stores in North America on November 20, 2006.

Gamestop Cuts PS3 Stock?
   While IGN already has dozens of PS3 units littering the hallways of our offices, most gamers out there are avidly anticipating the much-hyped console's release this Friday. Gamers who pre-ordered the console from Gamestop/EB Games may be in for a big surprise as the November 17 launch date fast appr...

Nintendo Relies on Viral Marketing
   Nintendo's upcoming 'new-generation' console, the Wii, is hitting stores in less than a week, and people everywhere are talking about it. In anticipation of this innovative console's release, Nintendo has been ramping up an equally innovative marketing plan designed to let people see, feel, and expe...

2007 IGF Student Showcase Entries Revealed
   

The organizers of the Independent Games Festival (part of CMP, as is Gamasutra) have now put up a list of the 102 Student Showcase entries for this year, showcasing the diversity of talent again on show for the ninth iteration of the yearly festival.

PixelBox Academy Launches New COLLADA Course
   

PixelBox Academy has launched the online course 'COLLADA 101', composed of five levels covering all the aspects of the interchangable file format, as part of its continuing initiatives in video game education.

Epic addresses Gears Of War bugs
   Patch in the pipeline to make Gears work better online.
It might not be out yet in the UK - and rumours of Tesco selling it early aren't true - but Epic is already working on a patch for the mighty Gears Of War.

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Problems with PS3 backwards-compatibility
   Gran Turismo 4 and Tekken 5 among the titles to experience problems on PS3.
Despite the inclusion of PS2 inside the PS3 - to make it as close to 100 percent backwards compatible as possible - problems have still been reported with a number of titles.

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Get Wii for free!
   Tempting promo offers a free Wii with mobile phones in the UK.
Mobiles.co.uk is tempting customers with what must be one of the best free promotional gifts we've ever seen for a mobile phone - a free Wii.

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Who bought PS3 with no games?
   The software tie-in ratio for the Japanese PS3 launch was less than one game sold. Looks like a lot of people bought PS3 purely to sell it on...
According to Japanese gaming bible Famitsu, the top three selling games at the PlayStation 3 launch in Japan over the weekend were Ridge Racer 7 (30,300 units), Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire (30,000 units) and Resistance: Fall of Man (20,889). Our calculator skills tell us that the grand total of software sales was 84,189 units.

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Battle's on: PS3 vs. Wii (USATODAY.com)
   USATODAY.com - At $500-$600, the Sony PlayStation 3, due Friday, is roughly twice as expensive as the $250 Nintendo Wii, out Sunday. But does this mean one new game system is twice as good as the other? The answer is yes - and no.

More Wii pack shots
   Admit it, you can't get enough of Wii pack shots. Peripheral packaging unveiled inside.
Not long now. December 8 (or November 19, if you're getting a US one) is Wii launch day. We've already booked the day off work and are counting down the days.



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Millionaire BUZZ! edition
   Upcoming PS2 version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Party Edition to be fully BUZZ! compatible.
It's amazing it hasn't been done before but Sony is finally allowing third-party developers and publishers to have a crack at creating party games that'll work with the awesome BUZZ! controllers.

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Braben showers PS3 with love
   Elite creator tells CVG in an exclusive interview that people are writing off Sony at their own peril.
David Braben, who also created classics like Zarch and Virus and more recently new Theme Park-style PS2 outing Thrillville, believes that Sony has got some key decisions absolutely right, despite widespread criticism of the company's approach to the PS3 launch.

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CoD3 Wii trailer - sequel rumours
   One explosive Wii trailer, and CoD4 abandoning WWII rumours.
Call of Duty 3 on the Wii may lack the grunt of the 360 version in the graphics department, but it adds to the game with some of the coolest motion-controlled scenarios we've seen on Wii, and you can see them all in this trailer.

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D&D debuts on PSP
   New shots of Kuju's PSP dungeon crawler level up inside.
Atari is proud to announce that D&D Tactics is the first Dungeons & Dragons game to grace Sony's handheld.



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Sony Sold 88,400 PS3s In Japan In 2 days, Says Publisher (TechWeb)
   TechWeb - Sony sold 88,400 units of its PlayStation 3 game console in the first two days after the launch in Japan, leaving most stores without any stock, video game magazine publisher Enterbrain said on Monday.

Sony PS3 Japan launch hits software glitches (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Sony Corp. said on Tuesday its new video game console, the PlayStation 3, does not run about 200 PlayStation and PlayStation 2 software titles properly, the latest problem the electronics maker has run into in its cash-cow game business.

PlayStation 3 has problems playing old games (AFP)
   

AFP - Sony Corp. has said users of the newly launched PlayStation 3 may have problems trying to play games designed for older versions of the console.

PlayStation 3 not playing some older games (AP)
   

AP - Sony's PlayStation 3 game console, which went on sale in Japan over the weekend leading off a global launch, can't play some of the older games for the original PlayStation and the upgrade PlayStation 2, a company official said Tuesday.