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Wii MotionPlus
- Long overdue
- Is basically what the Wiimote should have been initially
- Measures subtle rotational shifts, 1:1 – Craig says it actually works, he likes sword-fighting
- Craig “called” a new Wii Sports game right before Nintendo’s conference

Wii Sports Resort
- All 3 minigames were pretty fun
- Matt liked the disc dog game, since you can see how accurate Wii Motion Plus is – worked perfectly
- Angle, rotation played a huge part where the disc would land
- Craig thought sword-fighting was really accurate as well

WiiSpeak
- Laughably made
- Can put it anywhere in the room, cord looks gigantic (based on photos)
- Made for 3 – 4 people playing on a couch
- A third-party might make a work-around eventually (headset, microphone)
- Can use wireless keyboard in AC: City Folk
- Matt will remain skeptical until he can really test it
- Nintendo playing it safe again – Craig

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Celebrity publicity group TMZ has caught the most powerful woman in the world purchasing a Wii. Now the question is raised; is Oprah going to have Oprah game club, like her book club? Also look where she is shopping. Yes, even big celebrities shop at Wal-Mart.

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- Activision’s June Quarter Net Revenues Increase 32%;
- EPS Hits Record June Quarter High -
- Activision Blizzard’s CY 08 Financial Outlook Exceeds CY 09 Targets -
SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 31, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ — Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVID), which was formed on July 9 as a result of the closing of Activision’s transaction with Vivendi S.A., today announced record stand-alone June quarter financial results for Activision, Inc.

For the quarter ended June 30, 2008, Activision’s stand-alone net revenues were $654.2 million, a 32% increase, as compared to net revenues of $495.5 million reported for the June quarter last fiscal year. Activision’s stand- alone net income for the June quarter was $59.0 million, or $0.18 earnings per diluted share, as compared to net income of $27.8 million, or earnings per diluted share of $0.09 reported for the previous fiscal year’s June quarter. Excluding the impact of expenses related to equity-based compensation of $0.02 per diluted share and one-time costs related to the business combination between Activision and Vivendi Games of $0.02 per diluted share, Activision had non-GAAP net income of $74.3 million and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share of $0.23 for the June quarter. This compares to non-GAAP net income of $32.8 million and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share of $0.11 for the June quarter of the previous year, in each case excluding the impact of expenses related to equity-based compensation.

Separately, on July 24, 2008, Vivendi announced its preliminary June quarter financial results (on IFRS basis) which included results for the business that became part of Activision on July 9, 2008. For the quarter ended June 30, 2008, Vivendi reported 223 million euros in revenues and 42 million euros in EBITA for Vivendi Games which includes the results of Blizzard Entertainment(R).

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If you are as big of a Civilization fan as I am, this graph really comes in handy.

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More HERE

I can’t help being excited for SSII this Monday. Here’s a video of the Japanese version of the game that shows off some of the new characters and new moves.

“We’re always sharing information with the hardware group and all the teams within Nintendo so we can keep track of things. But in this case we were talking and they told me that they had this microphone in development and I said, ‘Really, that would work well with Animal Crossing. Here’s what we’d like it to do…’” – Katsuya Eguchi, producer of Animal Crossing: City Folk

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SEGA recently posted a new trademark for Jet Grind Radio, and it’s very possible it will release on the Wii.  With Dreamcast games such as Samba de Amigo and SEGA Bass Fishing already confirmed for Wii, it wouldn’t be a stretch for SEGA to think about one of its more beloved franchises coming to the Wii.  The gameplay for Jet Grind would be perfectly suited for the Wii’s control system and perhaps Balance Board and/or Wii MotionPlus support.

Hopefully we’ll hear more about this at either the Games Convention in Leipzig or at the Tokyo Game Show in October.

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I ran across this article and found it pretty interesting.

PlayStation 4 And More
Chris Morris 07.29.08, 6:00 AM ET

Before we get started, let’s get one thing straight: It’s insanely early to start thinking about the next generation of videogame systems.

Developers are only just beginning to figure out what they can do with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. And you still can’t even find a Wii on store shelves.

But the battle to lead the next generation is a never-ending one in the gaming industry. And while none of the major console manufacturers wants to talk specifics, developers in the know say Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are already hard at work putting together their next systems.
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