Game News: November 28, 2006

Most Chinese Hackers Seek Passwords (TechWeb)
   TechWeb - More than half of the malware coming out of China aims to steal passwords, and nearly half of those attempts targeted online gaming login information during October.

Micro Center Extends $100 Savings on XBOX 360 Throughout Holidays
   

Micro Center today announced that it will extend savings of $100 on in-store purchases of any Microsoft XBOX 360 system throughout the Holidays. After the $100 mail-in rebate the XBOX 360 Premium is $299.99 and XBOX 360 Core System is $199.99.

Xbox Addict: A Singular Pilot
   Xbox Addict looks at a game that was never meant to be: Konami's Time Pilot. This game is responsible for the creator's moving to Capcom, and then making Street Fighter II and Resident Evil.

Viva Piñata: Essential Gardening Tips
   Essential tips and tricks for attracting and keeping the tasty critters in Rare's Viva Piñata.

Shadowrun Beta Invitation
   Do you want to be one of the first to experience Shadowrun, the exciting new multiplayer team-based shooter based on the popular role-playing franchise? Applications are now being accepted! The beta will begin in December with a limited number of testers and gradually increase in size over time.

World's Biggest Piñata Party
   The World's Biggest Piñata Party, hosted by the original party animals from the Viva Piñata animated TV series?Hudson Horstachio, Fergy Fudgehog, and Paulie Pretztail?will be THE social event of the holiday season and everyone is on the guest list!

Second Xbox 360 public beta revealed
   It's PC gamers vs. Xbox 360 gamers in Shadowrun - be one of the first to check it out.
Eager to get your hands on Microsoft's cross-platform, online multiplayer FPS Shadowrun? Well then we are the bearers of glad tidings - Microsoft is inviting folks to shoot people in the face in the public beta for the game. So far, it's just the Xbox 360 version of the title that's opening its doors, but MS has said it "may be expanding the beta in the future to include Windows Vista gamers as well".

Click here to read the full article

Nintendo Claims Victory with Wii Game Console (NewsFactor)
   NewsFactor - Nintendo is claiming a big victory in the first battle of the next-generation console wars, with new figures showing that North Americans snapped up more than 600,000 of its Wii video game systems since November 19, racking up $190 million in sales in just eight days.

BioWare: "We're not looking to kill WoW"
   KOTOR developer breaks silence on its top-secret MMOG.
BioWare has admitted that its not looking to kill the mighty World of Warcraft with its hotly anticipated MMOG currently in development.

Click here to read the full article

Nintendo says sells 600,000 consoles in 8 days (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Nintendo Co. Ltd. (7974.OS) sold 600,000 units of its new Wii video game console in the first eight days after its release in the Americas, as the company vies with rivals Sony Corp. (6758.T) and Microsoft Corp. for gamers' hearts and wallets.

MUST SEE: 17 new Halo 3 screens
   Screens: More media than Master Chief can handle.
Next spring can't come quick enough for the first-ever public Halo 3 beta.



Click here to read the full article

Violent video game effects linger in brain (Reuters)
   Reuters - Teens who play violent video games show increased activity in areas of the brain linked to emotional arousal and decreased responses in regions that govern self-control, a study released on Tuesday found.

The world's first decent mobile phone game?
   Project Gotham Racing goes mobile, roster of cars revealed in new screens.
We're still waiting for mobile phone games to come good. In the meantime we're happily playing our DS Lites. That said, the Doom RPG was awesome, mainly because you didn't need to use anything apart from your thumb.



Click here to read the full article

Double Dragon co-op on Live Arcade
   Retro punch 'em up set for Xbox Live Arcade debut with online co-op mode.
If you don't remember this beauty go and ask your dad. It was a classic and one of the first fighting games that lets two players kick and punch their way through level after level of punks to save a hot pixelated honey at the end.

Click here to read the full article

PS3 calls in Turtle Power
   Ubisoft's upcoming movie-tie in listed as a European PS3 launch title.
In a typically EA fashion, the game based on the movie will be released on every gaming platform under the sun. Yep, that means Wii, 360, PS3, DS, GBA, PSP, PS2 and even PC. Possibly even Teletext at this rate!

Click here to read the full article

GAME-ON ASIA 2007 and ASTEC 2007 Call for Papers
   

Joint conferences GAME-ON ASIA 2007 and the Asian Simulation Technology Conference 2007 to be held in Shiga, Japan, from March 1-3, 2007, at Ritsumeikan University, Biwako-Kusatsu Campus, have called for paper submissions.

Your chance to interview Oleg Maddox
   Want to ask the creator of IL-2 Sturmovik? Submit your questions inside.
This Friday, Oleg Maddox - the masterbrain behind the critically acclaimed WWII flight sim IL-2 Sturmovik - is in Future Towers to fill us in on December release IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946, and we'll be cornering him and firing searching questions his way.

Click here to read the full article

Analysts tip 2007 for Xbox 360 price cut
   Microsoft will follow Sony's lead rather than surprising us all with a 360 price cut.
Speaking in an interview published yesterday, Microsoft's Robbie Bach said that manufacturing costs of the Xbox 360 have come down significantly, making a price cut for the console a viable option. The only question is when.

Click here to read the full article

Texas Hold 'em update tomorrow
   Faster gameplay and promised camera support for Live Arcade card game.
An update for the popular Live Arcade game Texas Hold 'em will hit Xbox Live tomorrow as part of Microsoft's Xbox Live Wednesdays promotion, Microsoft has revealed.

Click here to read the full article

Gamers say Wii has PS3 beaten (USATODAY.com)
   USATODAY.com - Since their debuts more than a week ago, two game systems earn good grades from consumers, but the underdog Nintendo Wii is the early favorite over the pricier, sexier Sony PlayStation3. About 49% of online discussions were favorable to the Wii, compared with 27% for the PS3.

Did Xbox 360 really outsell Wii?
   Nintendo shifts over 600,000 Wiis in North America, casting doubt over Microsoft's claims that 360 came out on top last weekend.
Nintendo has divulged its launch week North American Wii sales numbers, revealing that its next-gen console has shifted over 600,000 units over the past week.

Click here to read the full article

Nintendo says Americans snap up 600,000 Wii consoles (AFP)
   

AFP - Nintendo has said that it had sold more than 600,000 new Wii video game consoles in just eight days in North America in a boost to its efforts to wrest back market dominance from industry leader Sony.