The UK government’s Department of Health has endorsed Nintendo’s Wii Fit Plus - making it the first game to be allowed to use the National Health Service's Change4Life logo in future advertising.
The Change4Life programme is a campaign by the NHS to persuade people to take regular exercise and eat healthily.
[Update: Nintendo says the report is based purely on the speculation of the Nikkei newspaper]
Nintendo will reportedly release a new DSi sporting larger screens later this year in Japan.
The new model’s screens will be three-quarters of an inch larger than those featured on the current DSi, with the device said to be aimed at an older market, according to Nikkei (via Kotaku).
Tap-Fu developer Smells Like Donkey has expressed surprise and concern about the ease and rate of iPhone piracy.
According to the studio, a cracked version of its recent release Tap-Fu turned up on various download sites just 40 minutes after launch. During the game’s first week on sale, the developer found that as many as 90 per cent of players submitting scores to online leaderboards were playing with a pirated copy.
Unity Technologies, the company behind the Unity multiplatform development engine, has announced that it has secured new funding of $5.5 million.
The Series A financing was led by Sequoia Capital and also included David Gardner, the CEO of Atari, and Diane Greene, the founder and former CEO of VMware. Roelof Botha, partner at Sequoia Capital, and Greene will be joining the board of directors.
Nolan North, the voice actor behind Nathan Drake in PS3 series Uncharted, believes the producers of the upcoming movie adaptation will look to secure major Hollywood talent for the film’s lead roles.
Sony confirmed in July that the franchise was headed to the big screen after signing a deal with Columbia Pictures. The movie’s set to be produced by Avi Arad, Charles Roven, and Alex Gartner.
Michael Denny, senior vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios Europe, will deliver the opening keynote at next month’s Develop Liverpool conference.
Responsible for heading up the platform holder’s game development operations in Europe, Denny will discuss what Sony looks for when commissioning original IPs from independent developers.
'Gather round, all of you who would listen: I have a tale to tell.’ So began The Mark Of Kri, as a storm of line drawings gathered to accompany the narrator’s voice with illustration, equal parts Polynesian myth and Disney flair.
[Update: Analyst expects Netflix on Wii within 12 months]
US movie streaming service Netflix is making its way to PS3 “soon”.
Netflix expects to begin streaming via PS3 next month at no additional cost to existing subscribers who own Sony’s console.
A new volunteer-based organisation has been launched to promote the interests of small independent development studios.
Indievision was founded by Richard Hill-Whittall as an evolution of his ChaosEdge site, which was originally established to aid Mobigame in its legal fight to restore iPhone game EDGE to the App Store.
In principal the organisation is similar to the IGDA and TIGA but there are no membership fees, said Hill-Whittall.
Microsoft has reported flat year-on-year sales for its Entertainment and Devices Division, but the unit’s operating income almost doubled during the first quarter of its fiscal year ended September 30, 2009.
Revenues for the division, which covers the Xbox 360 and Zune platforms as well as PC and online games, totalled $1.89 billion (£1.16b), almost identical to a year earlier, while operating income rose from $159 million to $312 million (£191.3m).
Sometimes your best ideas for classroom practice can be found in the most unlikeliest of places. Well just the other day I think I stumbled upon another excellent opportunity for learning via a COTS game. I had heard about a game called Let's Tapfrom the Nintendo Wii and that the gameplay involved tapping the desk in order for the Wiimote to pick up the vibrations. Said vibrations would then control what happened in the game. Well. the most certainly do and I found myself playing this game for about an hour on Tuesday afternoon with my Development Officer at the Consolarium Brian McLaren. What larks we had and after an hour of mirth, discussion and competition the ladies in the main office in LTSDundee said that we were, "squealing like a couple of lassies!" (No sexist inference from me...just reporting what was said.)
Well what is Let's Tap? Have a look:
The game involved include:
Tap Runner: Sprint for the finish line in over 16 courses while avoiding obstacles including hurdles, ice wall and electric fields. (1-4 players)
Rhythm Tap: There are a wide range of songs to master in Rhythm Tap. Feel the beat and tap light, medium, hard in sync with the on-screen tap indicators. (1-4 players)
Silent Blocks: Different modes using light and hard taps to strategically remove blocks one at a time from the column without causing it to topple over. (1-4 players)
Bubble Voyager: Clad in a space suit, solo players tap to keep their character afloat through many levels filled with dangerous objects; a double tap will launch a missile. In multiplayer matches, you will shoot each other a number of times to win. (1-4 players)
Visualizer: Everyone will take their turn with several unique stages including Fireworks, Paint, River, Gem Game and Ink. Tapping with light, medium and hard strokes produces on-screen effects ranging from a fireworks display to undersea bubbles. In special tap sequences, various sea animals will appear. (1 player)
I feel that there is scope for the incorporation of all of the games in to the classroom in one way or another but the one that has really resonated with me is the Visualiser and the possibilities that this may have in the ASN context. Brian and I were lost in this part of the game and found ourselves orchestrating the most vivid and wildly beautiful firework displays, causing consternation in the coy pool or creating random Jackson Pollockesque canvases (ok maybe pushing it a little) by by tapping and banging on the table. The impact on a large projection screen within this game as a result of a simple tap or bang is just simply wonderful.
I'd very much like to see what this game could bring to the experiences of learners in the ASN context because of the simple way that players can engage with the game and the incredible return they get from a simple tap on a desk. I hope to report back on ways in which it has been put to use in schools very soon. I wholeheartedly recommend this game just for the fun aspect but yet again within a game designed for entertainment we see great educational potential.
Format: Arcade
Release: 1983
Publisher: Bally Midway
Developer: In-house
Not all gamers are teenagers. Nor do they always hang out in arcades. Such was the thinking of Bally Midway, which in the early ’80s decided to sidestep its competition by building games for the untapped market of less competitive ‘street’ locations – any site that wasn’t an arcade, such as a pizza joint or a bar.
CD Projekt Investment, the holding company that owns The Witcher developer CD Projekt RED, game distributor CD Projekt and digital distribution platform Good Old Games, will float on the stock exchange after acquiring 50 per cent of Polish PC firm Optimus’ shares.
The owners of CDP Investment will retain control of the CD Projekt Group while gaining control of listed company Optimus in a deal worth $23 million, according to a statement released by the firm.
Format: 360
Release: Out now
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Turn 10
Screenshot gallery
Konami shipped three million copies of PES 2010 to retail ahead the football title’s release today on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
“Retail backing for the game is extremely strong, with Konami predicting the game will become a million-selling title at launch,” the company said in a statement.
It’s the London Games Festival next week, the fourth annual celebration of videogames in the UK capital.
Comprising a mixture of both public and industry events, it promises to offer something for everyone, and, naturally, we’ll be there. Here’s our pick of what’s going on:
MCM Expo
Saturday October 24 and Sunday 25
Excel Centre
A DSi Speak Channel is believed to be in the works after the application was reportedly mentioned on Nintendo's website before being swiftly removed.
DFC Intelligence analyst David Cole has forecast that Apple platforms will be the primary drivers of mobile game market sales over the coming years.
Cole expects handheld and mobile game sales to hit $11.7 billion by 2014, with iPhone and iPod touch accounting for 24 per cent of total software sales.
Format: PC
Developer: Ben Wilhelm
www.mandible.net/2009/09/28/mobius/
In videogames, limbo’s nothing more than the space of time between dying and deciding that you want another go. Purgatory is a cut-scene, or a countdown, or – less frequently these days – a simple cash transaction for another credit. In the glory years of the arcades, all this made solid financial sense. Today, however, a growing number of designers seem less certain about the whole thing.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves entered the Japanese software at number five during the week ended October 18.
The PS3 exclusive was the highest new entry, selling a respectable 54,000 units in its debut week, according to data from Media Create (via Kotaku).
Xbox Live's director of programming, Larry Hryb, has clarified comments made by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer concerning Xbox 360 and Blu-ray.
Asked recently whether Microsoft has plans for an Xbox 360 Blu-ray drive, Ballmer said: “Well I don't know that we need to put Blu-ray in there - you'll be able to get Blu-ray drives, you can get Blu-ray drives as accessories.”
Microsoft has failed to rule out the possibility of significantly raising the subscription price for Xbox Live Gold membership in the very near future.
Developer Valve and publisher EA will be forced to release a modified version of multiplayer-focused zombie shooter Left 4 Dead 2 in Australia.
MMO developer and publisher Trion World Network has appointed former NCsoft West publishing president David Reid as senior vice president of publishing, and ex-Sony Online Entertainment executive Scott Hartsman as chief creative officer and general manager of its Redwood Shores Studio.
