Game News: December 11, 2006

Microsoft Releases XNA Game Studio Express and Launches XNA Creators Club
   

Your World. Your Game. With today?s release of Microsoft XNA Game Studio Express and the launch of the XNA Creators Club, this phrase has never been more true. Based on the easy-to-use Visual C# 2005 Express Edition and Microsoft .NET Compact Framework, XNA Game Studio Express opens up the world of game development to the masses and is now available for free to anyone with a Windows XP-based PC at http://www.msdn.com/XNA. With the release of XNA Game Studio Express, Microsoft Corp. unveiled the XNA Creators Club, opening up video game development to untapped creative minds, enabling anyone to affordably build and play amazing game ideas on Xbox 360 systems for the first time ever.

Report: Wi-Fi demand up 25 pct. in '06 (AP)
   AP - Demand for microchips that help laptops, video game consoles and other gadgets connect wirelessly to the Internet pushed higher in 2006, a trade group said Monday.

HP Aims to Take Gaming to the Streets (The Motley Fool)
   The Motley Fool - With Wii, its new video game device, Nintendo has gotten people out of their seats to play video games. But now, according to an article in BusinessWeek, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ - News) might soon be getting players out of their houses and onto the streets of the real world to do their playing.

Nintendo Sued for Wiimote Trigger (NewsFactor)
   NewsFactor - While Nintendo Wii gamers are having a smashing good time with one of this holiday season's hottest-selling game consoles, Nintendo is being hit with a lawsuit over the Wii's uniquely designed controllers.

Online video game studio gets cash infusion (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Red 5 Studios, an online video-game developer led by members of the team behind the wildly popular "World of Warcraft" game, said on Monday it has raised $18.5 million in venture capital.

Xbox Addict: Lumines Live!
   Xbox Addict looks Tetsuya Mizuguchi's musically driven puzzle title, Lumines Live! as it finally comes to Xbox Live Arcade.

Counter-Strike: Source gun upgrades
   Pistols beefed up as imbalance is highlighted by weapon economy.
Counter-Strike: Source's recently added 'weapons market' - which sees the prices of in-game weapons alter dynamically depending on popularity - has resulted in Valve Software initiating a pistol tweak.

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Turn Stars into Wii Points
   Wii Points cards to hit the Stars Catalogue soon.
Finally, those pointless Star points awarded to members of Nintendo-Europe.com can be put to good use; Wii Points cards will soon be made available to purchase through the Stars Catalogue.

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Bungie: "Mission accomplished!"
   Dev talks further about the Halo 3 TV trailer, interviews the creators of the advert.
"Mission accomplished!", Bungie's Frank O'Connor has declared about the Halo 3 TV trailer, saying that the ad was "designed to make the Chief look like an unstoppable badass".

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IN THE GAME - Video Game Documentary Releases
   

GoldenKnight Productions has announced IN THE GAME - Video Game Documentary, a two hour DVD intended to provide the next generation of game makers guidance on how to get into the industry.

SNES surprises for Virtual Console
   Super Probotector, Castlevania IV and R-Type bound for December UK release. Oh yes!.
If you're as big a retro Nintendo fan as we are, December 29 can't come soon enough because a December release schedule for the Virtual Console on the Wii has revealed that Super NES classics Super Probotector: Aliens Rebels (AKA Super Contra) and Super Castlevania IV will be made available for download on that day in UK.

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S.T.A.L.K.E.R. out March 2007
   Launch date confirmed in new teaser trailer.
GSC's long-awaited FPS-survival-RPG PC game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. will release in March 2007, according to a new teaser trailer released.

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Nintendo sued over Wii Remote
   Electronics company claims Nintendo ripped off its design.
Office peripherals manufacturer Interlink is suing Nintendo over an alleged infringement of a patent of a device that somewhat resembles the Wii Remote.

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Sega lands Aliens deal
   Xbox 360, PS3 and PC games in development that'll take "licensing to the next level" says Sega.
Sega has scored the rights from 20th Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising to create a series of games based on the Alien movies.

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'Tis the Seasons to be jolly in Sim-land
   The four seasons all celebrated in the latest expansion for The Sims 2.
"Head outdoors for year-round fun with your Sims!" declares EA about new Sims 2 expansion Seasons, which features season-specific activities, weather effects and other additions: "New seasonal activities await your Sims including snowball fights, chasing fireflies, jumping in leaf piles, and more.



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Register for Euro Halo 3 beta NOW!
   Microsoft deals out fansite compos to secure Bungie beta places.
There's finally a chance for European Halo fans to secure a spot on the upcoming Halo 3 beta, as Microsoft has dealt out a number of spaces to budding fansites to be given in away in competitions.

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DS outsells Wii
   The handheld flies off shelves at an unstoppable rate.
920,000 units sold in November in North America puts DS at the top of the sales chart for November, even beating sales of the newly launched Wii console, when people were camping outside shops to get their hands on the new console.

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CVG Hardware section launches!
   A brand new space for shiny gadgets and tech, plus win hardware goodies!.
Eyes left, yes you, eyes left and you might just notice something new appearing on our bulging nav bar, ladies and gentlemen (drum roll) ...welcome to CVG's new hardware section.



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The Supreme Commander is HUGE!
   Towering behemoth the Armored Command Unit (ACU) the star of latest gameplay footage.
Well, here he is, the Supreme Commander - or ACU - who is the lynchpin unit in your army in Gas Powered Games' forthcoming real-time strategy game. He builds, he commands, he can be upgraded, he can unleash death and destruction. And, he's bloody massive.

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New Zelda for Wii already in development
   For around a year according to a report from the US.
The latest issue of Game Informer has reported that a brand new Zelda for Wii has been in development for a year and could come out sooner rather than later.

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Warren Spector loves pretending to be Link
   "I never feel as heroic, as much a part of something epic and important, as I do when I'm pretending to be Link" says Deus Ex mastermind.
Industry legend Warren Spector has revealed to CVG his admiration of Nintendo's Zelda series.

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