Games Industry Wire

Wow, that’s a long headline, huh?
New Zealand will be the home of the new studio, Wingnut Interactive, headed by Peter Jackson. The director who has a cult following may have been picked as a popular choice because so many gamers will be HOT that the much-loved Halo series is being milked past it’s promised 3 title point:
According to Scott Henson, director of the Xbox Advanced Technology Group, new “Halo” games will likely come out sometime after the 2007 release of the much-anticipated “Halo 3.”
Henson–who spoke to CNET News.com from Barcelona, where Microsoft is holding its X06 Xbox press event–would …read more

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If you are freaked out by the macabre practice of electronics dissection please, STOP HERE.  The photos at the end of this link are disturbing and for mature adults only.
Wii Nunchaku Dissection
I threw up a little in my mouth when I saw it.  *shudder*

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I’m a little confused here. Why isn’t there space for a massive Wii demo in WalMart stores this fall?
Did Wal-Mart executives decide that the Wii was just too dangerous to demo in its stores? Is Sony paying off the world’s largest retailer in an attempt to sway consumer mind-share when shopping?
Doesn’t look that way. Although Nintendo and Wal-Mart won’t talk, employees from various Wal-Marts have stated that they expect to get their Wii demo units in for Q1 2007 and believe it was a timing issue. They did stress that although they will not be demoing the unit, they …read more

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Click to Play

I titled this one A Wii Little Problem.  The issues covered:
1.  Wii Is Region Locked
2.  Wii Press Site Hacked (almost)
3.  Mobile Games Contest (ends 9/25)

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A new book by Richard Abanes’ offers help to parents trying to determine how to navigate the video game waters.
When I first saw this on Challies’ blog I was skeptical. Even as a christian I rarely am anything but irritated when I see christians review the video game industry. However, this book appears, from Challies’ review, to speak some sense to parents:
If I had to boil this book down to two main points it would be these. First, computer games are neither intrinsically good or evil. Like television or theatre, video games are amoral. They can be made …read more

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Dark drama/horror has always thrilled me. I don’t know why, but I know there are lots of other freaks out there just like me. Even M&Ms has a dark side…
M&Ms dark chocolate game gives you the opportunity to discover 50 dark movies hidden in a chocolate painting. Some of those featured include:

12 Monkeys
Silence of the Lambs
The Invisible Man
Jaws
The Crow
Butterfly Effect

I won’t tell you the rest, because that’ll spoil it for you (and because I kinda haven’t figured them all out just yet).
The painting is done in a fairy tale-ish style, like an antiqued renaissance-era oil on canvas …read more

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That’s right folks.
If you purchased an Xbox 360 before January 1 2006 and you got the 3 red lights of death, Microsoft will be fixing your 360 for free or reimburse you for money you’ve spent on your 360 repairs. Here’s Microsoft official Statement about the issue.
As part of our standard and ongoing process of analyzing repair data, we recently noticed a higher than usual number of units coming in for repair. Upon further investigation, it was further discovered that the bulk of the units were isolated to a group that was part of the initial manufacturing run of the …read more

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MTV is shifting its media weight in the gaming market. MTV has Acquired Harmonix for 175 million USD.
“The acquisition of Harmonix will deepen MTV’s connection to its audience via online, mobile and console music gaming, and expand the relationship with both labels and artists through the creation of games based on classic songs as well as future album releases,” said Christina Norman, president of MTV.
The acquisition of Harmonix will increase MTV’s overall media weight and advance MTV’s goal of connecting to new audiences and creating a bigger platform. Harmonix is a smaller company that is trying to give audiences new …read more

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While I have to find fault with Nintendo for such a stupid login, you all might be interested in checking out Nintendo’s press site.  I’m not going to offer you the password/login details here in the lame attempt in staying in the good graces of Nintendo’s PR people, but I can direct you to the digg post that gives you full access (and a mirror) to their internal Wii site.
Enjoy:  Wii Preview 2006 Online Press Kit

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You have until September 25th to get your designs into the IMGA governing body.  In addition to the awards, winners will be given the opportunity to get their designs to market.  The mobile gaming industry is expected to be worth 6.4B by 2010, so if you are mobile game developer or you aspire to be one, contests like this can cement your reputation in this burgeoning industry.
Awards given this year:

Best Interactive Experience
Best Use of Connectivity
Excellence in 3D
Most Innovative Game
Best Use of Flash
Overall Best Mobile Game ($15K + Distribution Deal)

While the IMGA is aimed at gaming studios, individual developers, students and …read more

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