Game News: December 08, 2006

Bank In India Offers To Finance Xbox 360 Purchases (TechWeb)
   TechWeb - Customers can buy an Xbox 360 Core system for an upfront payment of the rupee equivalent of about $20.00 and six monthly installments of about $73.00. The Xbox 360 Core system ordinarily sells in India for about $518.00.

"World's Best Casual Gamer" wants to be a lawyer (Reuters)
   Reuters - The video game pro circuit is a man's world, but the $1 million jackpot of the year went to Kavitha Yalavarthi, who used her piano-trained hands to pound rivals for the title of "World's Best Casual Gamer."

Nintendo Wii U.S. sales top Sony's PS3: NPD (Reuters)
   Reuters - Nintendo Co. Ltd. (7974.OS) sold 476,000 units of its new Wii video game console in the United States in November, more than twice the number of PlayStation 3s sold by rival Sony Corp. (6758.T), as the two consoles debuted mid-month, research group NPD said on Friday.

Sony Responds to PS3 Shortage Claims (PC Magazine)
   PC Magazine - Thursday's NPD figures illuminated what we'd all suspected -- Sony's PlayStation 3 shipments for the month of November took the term "shortage" and redefined it. On Friday, Sony spun back.

Wii trounces PlayStation 3 in US sales in November (AFP)
   

AFP - Wii outsold rival PlayStation 3 by more than double in the United States in November as the freshly launched video game consoles vied with Xbox 360 for devotees, figures showed.

Fox Announces 'Firefly' Online Game (PC Magazine)
   PC Magazine - Fox Interactive announced plans on Friday to commission a massively-multiplayer online game based on the "Firefly" series that briefly appeared on its television network.

Wobbly Wii Worries Nintendo (NewsFactor)
   NewsFactor - Nintendo Wii gamers are having a smashingly good time with the hot new consoles. However, some say the fun has inadvertently led to damaging televisions, breaking windows and even bruising other users with out-of-control remote-control use.

Nail the Trick in Project 8
   Essential tips and tricks for climbing to skateboarding success in Tony Hawk's Project 8.

Police issue Wii warning
   Metropolitan Police give away safety warnings with new consoles.
Gamers purchasing Wiis in London this morning have been getting a safety warning from the Metropolitan Police in the form of a letter detailing safety guidelines for avoiding would-be muggers.



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50,000 Wiis sold in 12 hours
   Nintendo hits us with first sales figures on UK launch day.
Something momentous has occurred in the world of videogames very, very recently... Oh yeah, that's it, Wii has launched in the UK. And a beaming Nintendo has been quick to inform us that within 12 hours of the console going on sale 50,000 units have been snapped up by punters.

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Wiis hit eBay for £500
   Nintendo's console already being sold on the internet auction site.
Following the UK launch this morning prices for Wii consoles have exploded on internet auction sites, flogging for as much as £500 on eBay.

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Epic rushes to release Gears patch before Xmas
   Because Microsoft's certification group closes early for the Christmas break.
Speaking to Planet Gears Of War, Epic VP Mark Rein said that the team is rushing to get the patch finished and through the certification processes in time for a release before Christmas.

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Gamers Love PS3, Hate Blu-Ray (PC Magazine)
   PC Magazine - Gamers love Sony Corp.'s new PlayStation 3 for its graphic capabilities and firepower, but the advanced Blu-ray DVD drive is annoying some by raising the cost, slowing production and forcing them to buy into a format they've not yet aligned with.

First GRAW 2 info, movie, shots
   Advanced Warfighter sequel heading to X360, PS3, PSP and PC next year - First details inside.
Ubisoft has finally revealed the first details and media of the sequel to this year's seminal 360 Clancy shooter, Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter.



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PerGames 2007 Announces Call for Participation
   

PerGames 2007, the 4th International Symposium on Pervasive Gaming Applications, has announced a call for participation for its event scheduled to take place at the University of Salzburg, Austria on June 11 and 12, 2007.

Wii fever hits Europe (AFP)
   

AFP - The European launch of Nintendo's Wii console -- the most sought-after gadget for video gamers everywhere right now -- lasted just a few minutes.

Firefly lives on as MMORPG
   The sci-fi TV show - which, despite its popularity, only survived for one season - is making a resurgence as an MMORPG.
According to a report on Wired, the game is the result of Multiverse shaking hands on a deal with Fox Licensing. Multiverse is a company that's creating an MMO platform and won't be developing the title - apparently, a dev will be hired in to actually forge the game, employing Multiverse tools to do so.

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Wii UK launch carnage
   Hundreds turn up for Oxford Street Wii launch event. We were on the scene. Here's our full report.
The Nintendo Wii officially arrived in the UK last night, at HMV in Oxford Street, London, where the official launch festivities took place and gamers turned up in the hundreds for a chance of getting their hands on the new Nintendo hardware.



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Sony joins DVD war as new Blu-ray machine hits stores (AFP)
   

AFP - Less than a month after the troubled launch of its PlayStation 3, Sony has rolled out its new high definition DVD recorder in Japan as it struggles to restore its tarnished reputation.

R-Type shooting up Virtual Console next week?
   New Hudson game on VC on Monday - "it's one of the most requested games that fans want. Oooohh! Tasty!", says the dev.
A Hudson employee has kicked off speculation that classic shoot-'em-up R-Type may well be released for Wii Virtual Console next week.

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BioWare fires for Mass Effect on Live
   X06 trailer walking us through the dev's Xbox 360 action-RPG should be hitting Xbox Live today.
Xbox 360 disciples will, all being well, get a decent eyeful of BioWare's forthcoming , epic sci-fi action-RPG Mass Effect later today.

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Rogue Warrior shoots to kill
   Three new shots of Bethesda's 360, PS3 and PC FPS.
Not at all fighting crippling hangovers, we've discovered a trio of new Rogue Warrior screenshots freshly swiped from Bethesda's media vault.



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PS2 gets new Burnout game
   And PSP too. EA flips open the bonnet on Burnout Dominator. Updated with first 'screenshots'.
Criterion's adrenaline-pumping, hi-octane racer series Burnout is spinning onto PS2 and PSP in Burnout Dominator.



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UK Wii launch - Full report
   We brave the cold and queues to let you know what's happening at the UK Wii launch.
It's only a few hours since the Nintendo Wii has officially gone on sale in the UK and already Nintendo's new console is flying off the shelves around the country - especially at the official Wii launch event at HMV on Oxford Street.



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