PC Magazine - When legendary Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto introduced the Wii Fit, you could almost hear the collective howl of a million gamers. In Miyamoto’s mind, however, his new exercise-trainer-cum-minigame-collection is essential to gaming’s survival.
NewsFactor - Retailer GameStop has decided to stop selling Microsoft’s Zune media player. According to news reports, the decision was actually made about a month ago but was only recently made public.
PC World - GameStop is no longer going to sell Microsoft’s Zune digital media players in its retail stores.
TechWeb - InformationWeek - A report by the Simon Wiesenthal Center highlights how extremists have turned to YouTube, Facebook, online games, and Second Life to recruit new members.
AP - Late last year, when I was playing Valve’s brilliant puzzle game “Portal,” I felt a weird sensation: Laughter. I’m not sure when I first noticed it; perhaps it was when GLaDOS, the insane artificial intelligence that was tormenting me, promised “grief counseling and cake” after my ordeal. What really threw me was the idea that a video game could make me laugh out loud.
Hudson Entertainment today announced that registration for both a tournament and a sweepstakes for the recently launched galactic shooter, Star Soldier R for WiiWare on Wii begins May 27, 2008 and will go through June 24, 2008, concurrent with the contests. Gamers will have one month to vie for the high score in Star Soldier R’s “5-Minute Mode” where the top players on the ranking leaderboards have the chance to win prizes ranging from 16,000 Wii Points to 4,000. For the sweepstakes, 10 users will be picked in one random drawing to win prizes.
The Ellen Degeneres show recently gave away a Wii and Wii Fit to to all her audience members. If you want to see the audience of women going wild for Wii Fit check the video below (you may want to lower your speakers before hitting play). Who needs a crappy car from Oprah?
It seems as though Wii Fit is failing to impress the audience of females it is marketing the game to. Orange County news site ocregister.com recently got a bunch of blogging mothers together to try out Wii Fit. One mother found it insane that Wii Fit opted to way women before they use it. \”Obviously the makers of the Wii Fit weren\’t trying to market to women\” she said. Another mum accused the Wii Fit creators of not knowing what girls want and not knowing what girls like.
A youtube page that apparently belongs to an ad agency called \”Tinsley Advertising\” has posted up a risque video showing us \”why every guy should buy their girlfriend Wii Fit.\” NSFW
A trusted source has relayed to us that Intec are going to distribute the popular Wii knock-off known as the Vii v2 in North America. The original Vii was just a bit too similar to the original Wii, but the Vii 2 is deemed different enough not to warrant any serious legal bother when it starts going head to head with the Wii in the mainstream markets.
The latest UK software sales chart has seen Wii Fit drop out of the top 40 due to stock shortages. In fact, finding one at an online retailer based in the UK is virtually impossible. Argos, the largest general-goods retailer in the UK with over 700 stores, seems to have virtually no stock at any of its stores. The top 6 selling titles for the week are as follows: 1. Grand Theft Auto IV, 2. Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, 3. Haze, 4. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, 5. Wii Play, 6. Rock Band.
Nintendo and McDonald’s will soon be testing the \”Nintendo Spot\” service in 21 locations in Japan. At the locations, DS owners will be able to download a DS version of the Nintendo Browser which will allow access to a McDonald\’s page contain information on current promotions and the nutritional value of its products.
Sony have revealed that Afrika will not be coming to Europe and would only confirm that the game would be released in Japan. Not comment was made about a North American release.
10,000 Playstation Home Closed Beta testers were recently able to enjoy the Playstation Day from the comfort of their own homes via the new Media and Events Space. The testers were given exclusive VIP entry to the new space which is described as a \”virtual arena that will serve as the live entertainment hub of the thriving PS3 online community, hosting everything from new game unveilings to sports events to fashion shows. You can check out a video of the Playstaion Day as seen from Playstion Home in the forums and screens are available below.
SCEA revealed today that those who pre-order Secret Agent Clank will get a Secret Agent Clank figurine (while supplies last). SCEA also remind us that the Secret Agent Clank demo and PSP theme are available to download.