Game News: December 01, 2006

Nintendo's Wii game console debuts in Japan (AFP)
   

AFP - Thousands of video-game fans waited all night for the Japanese debut of Nintendo's next-generation Wii, brightening the company's hopes of wresting market share from troubled Sony's PlayStation.

Headgate Studios Team Joins EA
   

Electronic Arts Inc. Announced that the development team at Utah-based developer Headgate Studios Inc. has joined EA. EA has partnered with Headgate since 2000 to develop top franchises such as Tiger Woods PGA TOUR and Madden NFL. The development team will remain in Bountiful, Utah and will continue to work in partnership with the EA development teams in California and Florida. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

2K Sports Breaks out Underground Beats for College Hoops 2K7
   

Get ready to get your boom on while playing 2K Sports College Hoops 2K7, the #1 rated college basketball simulation series for the last four years. 2K Sports is renowned for compiling left-of-the-dial soundtracks for its top rated video games ? a move which ultimately captures the essence of the respective sports better than any mainstream hits. With College Hoops 2K7, the tradition continues, as a host of underground hip hop crews and a handful of alternative guitar riff rebels are recruited to represent the raw nature of college ball.

Xbox Addict: Ultimate Kombat
   Xbox Addict looks at the ultimate edition of the ultimate fighting title: ULTIMATE Mortal Kombat 3. The expanded version of the arcade title added new characters and features and it's now on Xbox Live Arcade.

Analysts Debate Sony Executive Shifts (PC Magazine)
   PC Magazine - Sony's recent shakeup in the boardroom certainly has people talking. What does it mean exactly when 'father of the PlayStation' Ken Kutaragi is promoted up (and arguably out) of the presidential seat over at Sony Worldwide? A shift in Sony's business policy -- or simply the most Japanese golden handshake you've ever seen?

GameCareerGuide.com Seeks Submissions
   

Gamasutra's sister educational site GameCareerGuide.com is seeking submissions from industry professionals, educators, and students on topics related to game education, including How-To, Research, Getting Started, Postmortem, and Day in the Life articles.

Sony's PS3: What the Cell? (PC Magazine)
   PC Magazine - The PS3 was supposed to be the most insanely advanced gaming machine ever created. So why is it, then, that all these PS3 games look just the same as they do on the Xbox 360?

Business and Legal Primer for Games Book Debuts
   

Course PTR has announced the release of its latest video game-related book, Business and Legal Primer for Games, which covers several vital areas to business and legal issues such as marketing, contracts, and taxation.

Sony exec: Management shuffle necessary (AP)
   

AP - The recent management changes in Sony Corp.'s video game division were needed to ensure the success of the new PlayStation 3 console, Sony President Ryoji Chubachi told a newspaper Friday.

Game Career Guide Seeks Submissions
   

Gamasutra's sister educational site Game Career Guide is seeking submissions from industry professionals, educators, and students on topics related to game education, including How-To, Research, Getting Started, Postmortem, and Day in the Life articles.

PlayStation 3 Sales Drop Sharply On Low Supply (PC World)
   PC World - During its first full week of availability in Japan sales were sharply lower than those during the two days immediately following its launch.

Texas Hold em Gets Updated
   

This week on Xbox Live Arcade we offer a full-featured update to one of the most popular titles on the service. Texas Hold em. We've listened to our community and as a result, a host of features and improvements have been added to Texas Hold em to speed up game-play, eliminate cheating and ensure proper competition. As a result, the online multi-player leaderboards will be reset to eliminate the inflated scores that currently appear. In a future update in early 2007, we'll be adding Xbox Live Vision Camera support as well.

Sony shifts from hardware to software?
   According to one analyst, Kutaragi's recent move could be the first sign of Sony doing a Sega.
With the news of Sony taking yet another hit by way of the recent canning of GT HD, one analyst seems to think that this is the end of Sony as a hardware manufacturer.

Click here to read the full article

SSX Wii hits the slopes
   Much-loved snowboarding series to debut this weekend in first Wii trailer.
Originally announced back in July, SSX Wii will make its first appearance this weekend as the debut gameplay trailer airs on Spike TV in the US.

Click here to read the full article

GT HD reduced to concept demo
   No online Gran Turismo planned until 2008 with GT5.
Kazunori Yamaouchi, CEO and producer at Gran Turismo dev Polyphony, has revealed that developer has chosen to focus attention on Gran Turismo 5, with Gran Turismo HD no longer to be released as a full game. GT HD instead is to made available for download as GT-HD Concept demo.

Click here to read the full article

Sign up for the Halo 3 beta NOW
   Enrolment for the Bungie beta to begin this Monday... in the US, that is.
US CVG readers have your F5 keys at the ready - because Microsoft has revealed that sign-ups for the North American Halo 3 multiplayer beta will begin this Monday, December 4.

Click here to read the full article

The Ultimate Xbox 360 Entertainment Experience Sweepstakes
   

Tune in tonight to ESPN SportsCenter at 8pm PST 11:00 pm EST for a sports program packed with an Xbox 360 punch. As the sole advertiser during this special edition of SportsCenter, Microsoft will air a total of seven minutes of national commercial time with compelling Xbox 360 ads such as Cops and Robbers and Mad World. Microsoft and ESPN also kick off The Ultimate Xbox 360 Entertainment Experience, a three week online sweepstakes with entry through http://www.xbox360winitall.com/. Viewers will be asked five questions about the commercial spots. If they get three or more correct, they will automatically be entered in the sweepstakes.

Exclusive Halo 3 Trailer Broadcast Debut
   In North America, Monday, December 4 on ESPN's Monday Night Football and Xbox.com in Europe, the new 60-second Halo 3 trailer offers an exclusive look at the iconic Halo universe and provides telling, new hints as to what Bungie Studios has in store.