The Wii Shows Up In Marriott & Renaissance Hotels

BETHESDA, Md. & REDMOND, Wash.–The Wii™ experience is just beginning for Marriott and Renaissance guests, who can now choose from 20 games, including the popular Mario Kart™ Wii, Super Mario Galaxy™, and Wii Sports™ as well as the revolutionary fitness game, Wii Fit™. In a lodging industry first, Marriott International, Inc. is piloting a new specially built Wii hotel game system from Nintendo in select guest rooms and lounges. Wii systems are available at six Marriott and Renaissance properties:

* New York Marriott Marquis
* Renaissance New York Hotel Times Square
* Boston Marriott Cambridge
* Bethesda (Md.) Marriott Suites
* Annapolis (Md.) Marriott Waterfront
* JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa, Phoenix (Lounge only)

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New York Game Conference Ask 8 Teens About Their Habits

- When asked what they liked to do the most, the eight teens, which was split 50/50 when it came to gender, and aged between 14-17, all answered that they like to hang with friends. They all enjoyed gaming, but it wasn’t a priority, so they weren’t hardcore gamers to say the least.

- Every single one of them had access to a Wii. Either they owned one or had a family member that has one. All the girl games, plus one guy owned theirs. Of the remaining dudes, two of them had a Xbox 360 as their main console, while the last one mostly payed games on his laptop. Three of the girls also had 360s at home, though it was not specified if it was theirs or a family members. No one had a PS3.
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Nintendo Turns 119 Today

Happy birthday Nintendo! Some of you are reading this and are wondering; 119? Wow, how is Nintendo that old. Well my young padawans, the answer can be found for you below. Enjoy reading about the long history of Nintendo after the Jump. How about three mighty big cheers for our favorite company!

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Peter Moore’s Reaction To The Wii-Mote

The GameCube had pretty much failed. I was in Tokyo when Iwata-san brought the controller out and said, ‘here it is!’ and we were all going, ‘what the hell is that?’. I was with Robbie [Bach] and I remember going … Read More

NINTENDO DS BECOMES THE HOT TECH-CESSORY FOR FASHION-CONSCIOUS WOMEN

‘From Bags to Riches’ Includes DS Systems with Fashion Handbag Rentals

REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 17, 2008 – Women who prefer the hottest designer handbags draped over their arms will now be able to have the hottest portable video game system at their fingertips as well. Nintendo has partnered with From Bags to Riches, a popular online handbag-rental service, to include stylish and colorful Nintendo DS™ systems and games with some rentals through the end of 2008.

From Bags to Riches subscribers will have the chance to borrow a Nintendo DS and games, free of charge, with a 30-day rental of one of From Bags to Riches’ featured handbags from such coveted designers as Prada, Tory Burch, Gucci and Juicy Couture. Consumers can choose the handbag and Nintendo DS that best suit their taste on FromBagstoRiches.com. After the conclusion of the rental period, consumers simply return the Nintendo DS along with the bag.

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Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Comments on EA Announcement

New York, NY – September 14, 2008 – Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO) today responded to Electronic Arts Inc.’s (NASDAQ:ERTS) announcement that it does not intend to pursue an acquisition of Take-Two at this time.

Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of the Board of Take-Two, commented, “We remain focused on creating value for our stockholders and our consumers. This has been our goal since EA launched its conditional and unsolicited bid six months ago, a bid which was repeatedly rejected by our stockholders. As part of that commitment, we remain actively engaged in discussions with other parties in the context of our formal process to consider strategic alternatives. We’re especially proud of the success we’ve enjoyed over the past eighteen months and we remain confident in our ability to generate value for stockholders.”

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Super Smash Brothers Melee College Class

You read that right! Oberlin school of Art in Ohio offers a one hour course in Smash Brothers Melee Theory and practice. Check out the course description below.

Super Smash Brothers Melee Theory and Practice 0-1 Credit Brian Mazur, Mike … Read More

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. – Third Quarter Fiscal 2008 Financial Results

Non-GAAP EPS is $0.93, versus ($0.62) Non-GAAP Net Loss a Year Ago

Top and Bottom Line Results Exceed High End of Guidance

Non-GAAP EPS is $0.93, versus ($0.62) Non-GAAP Net Loss a Year Ago

Top and Bottom Line Results Exceed High End of Guidance
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO) today announced financial results for its third quarter ended July 31, 2008, which exceeded the Company’s previously issued guidance.

Net revenue for the third fiscal quarter was $433.8 million, compared to $206.4 million for the same quarter of fiscal 2007. Third quarter sales were led by the blockbuster Grand Theft Auto IV, as well as Top Spin 3 and Sid Meier’s Civilization® Revolution™.

Net income for the third quarter was $51.8 million or $0.67 per share, compared to a net loss of ($58.5) million or ($0.81) per share in the third quarter of fiscal 2007.

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GCBooter: Region Free GC Playing On Your Wii

GCBooter is a simple application which allows anyone to boot their original GC games from Wii mode. It is region free and works from the homebrew channel.

This is far simpler to use than having to patch your system menu … Read More

Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness Now Available for DS

GRAB YOUR SEEDS, YOUR WATERING CAN, AND YOUR DS!

HARVEST MOON: ISLAND OF HAPPINESS FOR NINTENDO DS NOW AVAILABLE!

New Handheld Harvest Moon Adventure Kicks Off The 10-Year Anniversary
Celebration For The Ever-Popular Harvest Moon Franchise!

Burlingame, Calif., August 26, 2008 – Natsume, a worldwide developer
and publisher of family-oriented video games, announced today that
Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness for the Nintendo DS has officially
shipped, marking Natsume’s ten year commemorative anniversary
celebration for the popular Harvest Moon series. Harvest Moon: Island
of Happiness is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB and will retail for
$29.99.

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TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE, INC. CONFIRMS THAT ELECTRONIC ARTS WILL JOIN TAKE-TWO’S FORMAL PROCESS REVIEWING STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES AND THAT EA’S TENDER OFFER WILL EXPIRE

New York, NY— August 18, 2008 — Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO) today confirmed that it expects to sign a confidentiality agreement with Electronic Arts allowing EA to enter into Take-Two’s formal process to evaluate strategic alternatives. Take-Two also affirmed that it is continuing its discussions as part of this process to maximize value for stockholders.

Take-Two also noted that EA will allow its unsolicited conditional tender offer to acquire all of Take-Two’s outstanding shares to expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, today.

Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two, commented, “We welcome EA into our formal process and look forward to demonstrating to their Board the significant strides made by Take-Two since they last undertook a detailed review of our business in early 2007. Our Board remains unwavering in its belief that EA’s unsolicited conditional tender offer of $25.74 per share was inadequate and undervalued Take-Two’s world-class entertainment franchises and our strong operational and financial performance.”

Ben Feder, Chief Executive Officer, added, “We are continuing to consider all alternatives that will maximize value to our stockholders. As part of that commitment, we are engaged in discussions with other parties as part of a formal process to generate greater value and will act quickly to assist EA in moving expeditiously through our process. In the meantime, we remain focused on executing on our business goals and creating value for stockholders and consumers of our products.”

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Nintendo Voice Chat Summary

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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Nintendo – units moved, lifetime sales, and more

Nintendo’s Quarterly Revenue: $3.9 billion USD (24% increase over 1Q 2007)

Nintendo’s Quarterly Profit: $990 million USD (33% increase over 1Q 2007)

From Page 2 of the statement:

Forecast profit for fiscal year 2008: $3 billion USD (26% increase over … Read More

E308: Nintendo Winning Over 3rd-Party Publishers

Nintendo Co Ltd, surging from the commercial success of its Wii game machine, is winning over this coveted group of partners in a marked departure from the Wii’s ill-fated predecessor, the GameCube.

During this week’s E3 video game industry trade … Read More

Namco/Bandai Games Hands on, We cheer, Tales, Active Life, and Digimon

*Pictures coming soon for these games…Internet is very slow here

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World (Wii) was my favorite of Namco/Bandai’s showings.  The game takes everything the first Tales of Symphonia game on the Gamecube did well, and makes it 10 times better.  The battle system is still very free-form and allows for a number of new combos and strategies. The addition of a complete monster capture/training system is a welcome one.  There are almost 220+ monsters that can be caught in the game and each have their own evolutions and level up as in most RPGs (very similar to Pokemon).  Every monster levels up just like your characters and can be assigned strategies throughout any battle.

Another huge addition is 4-player multiplayer support.  Up to 4 of your friends can join your party at any time in the game and take control of one of your party members to control themselves.  I didn’t get to test this feature out, but I’m really looking forward to when the game finally releases in the States.

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Fifa 09 All-Play – details

- online game improved since last Fifa, but nothing fancy. Only 2% of Fifa 08 purchasers went online – Be A Pro Camera included – gameplay is very similar to Winning Eleven Wii – All-Play control, Advance control and GameCube … Read More

Natsume Celebrates 10 Years Of Its Popular Harvest Moon Series With 2 New Titles for DS and Wii This Summer

Special Anniversary Packaging, Plush Toys, Strategy Guides and an
Exclusive DS Lite Kit Just Some of the Specialty Items that will
Commemorate the Beloved Series

Burlingame, Calif., July 7, 2008 – Natsume, a worldwide developer and
publisher of family-oriented video games, announced today that the
company is celebrating the ten-year anniversary of its popular Harvest
Moon franchise this summer. In commemoration of the anniversary,
Natsume is launching two new Harvest Moon titles later this quarter
and offering a host of retail promotions surrounding the launches.

Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness for the Nintendo DS and Harvest Moon:
Tree of Tranquility for the Nintendo Wii will both be available at
retail later this summer, and will be branded with special packaging
marking the 10th anniversary. In addition, a line of collectible plush
toys featuring the cute and friendly animal characters from the games
will also be available as a pre-order bonus/gift with purchase at
select retailers. Other special promotions surrounding the anniversary
include an exclusive 10th anniversary Harvest Moon DS Lite Kit (with
protective cover, stylus, screen wipe and more) and two new strategy
guides from BradyGames.

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NARUTOTM: CLASH OF NINJA REVOLUTION 2 FactSheet

FACT SHEET for Nintendo Wii^TM

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

Believe it! NARUTO, the reigning property for boys 9-14 on television and online, battles onto the Wii platform again from TOMY Corporation and D3Publisher with NARUTO: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2. Developed by Eighting, NARUTO: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 has an all new original storyline created for the North American audience and features the largest character roster yet for the Clash of Ninja series. The latest iteration of the hit fighting game represents a huge progression from the previous game, including never-before-seen modes, improved visual presentation, and polished gameplay mechanics. Using their favorite characters from VIZ Media’s hit animated series NARUTO, players can intensify special ninja techniques or perform “hand signs” mid-battle with the Wii remote; or opt for the Classic or the GameCube controller for a more traditional fighting game experience. The only four-player NARUTO fighting game series available, NARUTO: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 will support widescreen (16:9) and progressive scan at 480p when it releases this fall.
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