Update: Wanted to bump this post to the front page and give you folks an update. Apparently the game is some sort of Ninja action adventure game. No word yet on which platform the game will be heading to, but some have claimed that it is a DS title.
The World Hobby Fair isn’t exactly known for game announcements. This year, however, news is expected when the event begins on January 18 – specifically from EA. The company is expected to be making an announcement for a new game. The mystery title is listed on a special EA site as a “completely original action adventure game.” No further details were provided, but Spore Heroes and the game that Suda51 and Shinji Mikami are working on are two realistic possibilities. Other than EA’s secret title, SimAnimals, Boku to Sim no Machi Kingdom, and Boku to Sim no Machi Party will be playable at the event.
Former 1-UP Entertainment Network and EGM Senior Exec Shane Bettenhausen Joins Ignition Entertainment as Company Continues to Expand Worldwide Operations
Glendale, Calif., January 15, 2009 – Ignition Entertainment Ltd., a UTV Enterprise, a worldwide publisher and developer of videogames, announced today that Shane Bettenhausen has been tapped as the Company’s new Director of Business Development. As the former Senior Executive Editor for influential gaming media outlets Electronic Gaming Monthly and 1-UP.com, Shane’s extensive background and profound knowledge of videogames, coupled with his encyclopedic knowledge of the video gaming industry, perfectly primes Bettenhausen to spearhead the company’s development initiatives moving forward well into the ‘next gen.’
According to Shane, “I’ve spent the past nine years dissecting and evaluating games as a journalist, and I’m incredibly eager and humbled to finally get the chance to learn the other side of the business. I’m tremendously excited to help shape the direction of Ignition’s future products, and I feel that together, we’ll be able to craft experiences that entertain, challenge, and emotionally impact gamers.”
Wii & Nintendo DS Set New Industry Records
Wii Sells 10.17 Million Units & DS Sells 9.95 Million Units in a Year
REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Before 2008, no video game system had ever been purchased by ten million Americans in a single year. But according to independent sales data released today by the NPD Group, the Wii™ console from Nintendo did just that, even during these economic times, with 2008 unit sales of 10.17 million. The Nintendo DS™ portable handheld system came in a close second, with 2008 unit sales of 9.95 million. Each of them broke the previous yearly unit sales record set in 2007 by Nintendo DS with sales of 8.52 million.
Consequently, Wii represented 55% of all next generation home console sales in 2008, while Nintendo DS claimed 72% of all portable system sales in 2008.
Wow, that first video is pretty interesting (well, both of them are really). The Conduit has come a long way!
Keep in mind that this might not be the final Japanese boxart.
Thanks to Jake for the news tip.
“We can’t quite tell at the moment [if the service will arrive in the United States]. But if the negotiations are a success, maybe within the year. Nintendo has the power to push forward their own, original service.” – Fujisoft representative Atsushi Ide
As you can probably tell, it’ll take some work to bring the service stateside. Remember, Minna no Theatre Wii is different from Nintendo’s own video distribution serivce. Fujisoft will have to negotiate with Nintendo of America in order for there to be a chance of bringing the service to the United States.
“Codemasters, as a company, we have to take Wii seriously and make Wii games in the right way. To be honest, something like Overlord is going to utterly determine how much more of this kind of content Codemasters pretends. This is a risk for us: we’re assuming that come next summer, there’s going to be a big market for this game to make it work for a while. We’re sure that’s going to work out, and I hope that we’re right. If we are proved really, really wrong and all Wii games that you want to play is Wii Fit, then it comes the problem. But, at this moment in time, I don’t work in the racing group of Codemasters or anywhere with action games, but as you said, the likes of McRae, the likes of F1, those will also come to Wii.” – Dean Scott of Codemasters
We hear statements like these all the time, but it does make sense in a way. If games don’t sell, it makes it more difficult for a company to invest in a higher budget, bigger production values, etc. Overlord: Dark Legend is shaping up to be a nice core game for Wii owners though, so hopefully that audience will show Codemasters support.
Course: Funky Stadium
Main objective: Collect coins
Secondary objective: Achieve the best time
Tournament date: 1/15 – 1/25
