Wrestling fans know him as the WWE Hall of Famer who managed more than 50 wrestlers in his day, with more than two dozen championships won by athletes taken under his wing. 80's music fans might remember him from his appearances in many Cyndi Lauper music videos, including "Girls Just Want To Have Fun", "She Bop", "Time After Time" and "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough." As gamers, we of course remember him as the best live-action Mario of all time. That's not saying much when your chief competition is Bob Hoskins, but at least he was Italian. The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! might have only run a grand total of 52 episodes, but that was more than enough to cement Captain Lou's place in gaming history.

Mr. Albano suffered from a heart attack in 2005 and has been in failing health ever since. He was at home with his family under hospice care when he passed away.

Breaking News: WWE Hall Of Famer Passes Away [PWMania.com - Thanks Matt]

The company that owns the North American licenses for both Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh now has a lot more adorable video game characters up its sleeve. The tiny protagonists of Mini Ninjas had cartoon written all over them, and 4Kids certainly sees the franchise's potential.

"Mini Ninjas has a wonderfully distinctive look and compelling characters, and the brand appeals to a broad demographic range – all key attributes for a healthy licensing program across multiple categories," said Carlin West, executive vice president for acquisitions and development for 4Kids Entertainment.

No plans for a cartoon or film based off of the game and its characters has been announced, but come on - it's 4Kids.

4Kids signs Mini Ninjas [Licensing.biz]

The three words electrifies the crowd. The children swarming in the front yard of the Denver suburban house run to the curb. They crane their necks, point, howl with excitement.

The one-ton truck eases its way through the last turn and straightens, a 42-foot trailer in tow.

As the truck rolls down the street past quiet homes and neat yards the excitement grows and the vehicle's detailed decorations begin to come into focus.

Carefully detailed creatures painted in neat rows line the entire hood of the truck. Swirls of color, a galaxy of stars spread from the hood down the sides of the truck and to its trailer.

The trailer, all 42 feet of it, is festooned with 8-foot-tall animated children, fasntastic creatures and images of steel multi-hued balls. But more important than the spectacle of a rolling cartoon, than the chug of the one-ton truck are the words written in fire and gold across the side of the truck: "Bakugan Brawlers"

Last year Bakugan was the it present for children 8 to 12. The holidays saw national sellouts of the toys, a combination of trading cards and marbles based on a Japanese cartoon. This year game developer Activision hopes to fuse the wild popularity of the toy with a video game and create a new franchise that could possibly one-day give Nintendo's Pokemon a run for its money.

"Pokmon have a head start on us, so it's not an apples to apples comparison," Activision spokesman Bill Linn said. "That said, the Bakugan toys have shown great strength in the marketplace in the States and continues to dominate in retail, so it's certainly on track to give Pokemon a run for its money."

"The two brands certainly share an audience amongst kids. What kid doesn't like monsters and battles?"

Pokemon, Nintendo's most popular game franchise after Mario, was initially created by Nintendo in the mid 90s as a video game and later spawned movies, cartoons and a collectible card game. Bakugan, though, started out as a cartoon and went on to spawn a card and toy game and finally a video game.

In Bakugan players place metal cards on a playing field and then take turns rolling the Bakugan balls toward them like marbles. When a ball rolls across a metal card, a magnet inside the plastic ball releases allowing the ball to spring open and reveal a creature.

"The game's popularity is really tied to its design," Linn said. "Bakugan blends the classic game of marbles, the collector card craze and a little bit of Transfomers into one activity. Any one of those would be fun, but when you combine all three, it adds a level of depth and interactivity that really appeals with kids."

Linn says the video game was created to appeal to fans of the card game and TV show.

"In story mode, kids to create their own character and play through a plot scripted by the writers of the animated show," he said. "It's like playing through a season of the cartoon, with you as the main character. In the battle arena, we've really brought the world to life through power ups and other special activities that make this much more than just rolling a ball."

It was important, Linn adds, for the video game to also capture the physicality of Bakugan.

The Wii version of the game, which is also coming to the DS, PS2, PS3 and Xbox 360, has players mimicking a throwing movement with the console's motion-detecting remote to toss a marble at the playfield. Once on the move, players can guide the Bakugan around the interactive field to pick up power-ups and then try to stop on the virtual cards. As in the physical game, when the ball hits the card it springs open.

"The play mechanic really gives the player a lot of control in battles," Linn said. "When throwing, they can have a standard, power or special throw that will affect how the ball enters the arena. Players can then control the ball by twisting the controller and tapping the B button. This gives the ball a nudge, but is not unlimited. And finally, when your opponent plays, you can shoot his ball and affect their trajectory.

"For the other platforms, we optimized the game to the controller. With Xbox 360, you can use both analog sticks. For the PS3, we use the Sixaxis control and the analog stick at the same time."

And Bakugan: Battle Brawlers, due out on Oct. 20, will be just the first video game built around the franchise.

To help promote the birth of this new video gaming franchise, Activision launched the Roll Across America Tour earlier this month.

The nationwide tour gives fans of the toy and show a chance to play the Wii and DS version of the game on flat screen panels mounted inside a 42-foot long trailer.

The Bakugan-decorated truck and trailer, which features four Wii connected to flatscreen televsions, two DS, a couch, track lighting and hardwood floors, will travel more than 4,500 miles this fall to promote the game.

During a stop in Colorado last week children and parents crowded inside the air-conditioned trailer taking turns playing the game for four hours. Many spent the entire four hours gaming.

Everyone, parents and children alike, seemed to enjoy the video game, staying around until the sun set and the stars in the sky almost equaled those painted on the truck.

Well Played is a weekly news and opinion column about the big stories of the week in the gaming industry and its bigger impact on things to come. Feel free to join in the discussion.

When asked why the animated series, which rad from 1986 to 1991, wasn't tapped, game designer Drew Haworth explains, "We avoided reference to any of the animated series. This isn't a reflection of their quality, but because the animated series isn't actually considered canon, and everyone from Sony to the original creators to us didn't want to create any confusion by blending them."

Valid point, but screw "canon" — the cartoon was so great. Know what else was great? The Real Ghostbusters toys.

Why Ghostbusters for the Wii Isn't the "Real" Thing [Kombo via GoNintendo]

"My understanding is that they will use the engine, the Maya files where the characters come to life, but they'll be creating animated... I think it's a 20-minute cartoon. I'm personally quite intrigued to see how it comes out. Lego, every time they've had a new brand out, they've done some CGI stuff as well, but I think this will be quite different."

This would be a perfect opportunity to bring Adam West back into the Batman fold, as I can't see Batman: The Animated Series lead Kevin Conroy's voice coming out of Lego Batman's little round head.

20-minute Lego Batman cartoon in works [GI.biz]

Eternity's Child Heading to WiiWare (Updated) [WiiDS.co.uk]

I'm still upset this series didn't air longer in the US. It had everything! A quirky animation style, likeable characters, fantastic creature designs and a theme-song performed by The Cure. THE CURE! Silly uncultured Americans. *hides*

Playlogic Signs Game Deal with Futurikon for "Dragon Hunters"

(Amsterdam, The Netherlands) June 28, 2007- Publisher Playlogic Entertainment, Inc. (OTC BB: PLGC) announced that it has signed a worldwide 3 year license with a 2 year extension, on all platforms, based on the popular franchise Dragon Hunters with Futurikon (France). The animated television series is on air and there is also a full feature-length animated movie based on the series scheduled for release early next year.

"We really enjoy starting this ambitious collaboration with Playlogic. The Universe of Dragon Hunters has a high creative value. Moreover the hunting stories, the humour and the variety of the Dragons allow for the creation of great videogames. We are sure that the Playlogic team will reach this goal!" states Philippe Delarue, CEO of Futurikon.

"We are very pleased to have entered into an agreement with Futurikon," comments Stefan Layer, Playlogic's VP of Sales and Marketing. "This cooperation enables Playlogic to exploit the Dragon Hunters universe on various platforms. Playlogic will be able to use material from the Dragon Hunters CGI movie out in cinemas in 2008, as well as from two seasons of the Dragon Hunters TV series."

Playlogic plans to publish the game version of Dragon Hunters on Nintendo DS in line with the movie release, scheduled for Q1 of 2008.

"The Dragon Hunters universe is a perfect match for a video game," states Dominique Morel, CTO of Playlogic. This concept is not only graphically very creative and original; Dragon Hunters is also a superb opportunity to create rich new interactive content, with hilariously fun game play. Playlogic and the developers already working with us on this game are totally enthusiastic about its potential. Hunting will never have been more fun!"

All the graphics guys have to do is make it look like the cartoon, which they seem to be doing a passable job of here. I'll be the graphics guy. Developing gives me a headache. Michael Fahey

I've posted the theme song so everyone can remember the good times when Saturday morning cartoons were a marathon of animated bliss. Maybe you even watched the cartoon as a kid with a big bowl of Pac-Man cereal (I was more partial to the Muppets Show themed, "Crunchy Stars" from the Swedish Chef). Now if only there had been an Eek! the Cat video game out for Xbox, then I could be watching some classic episodes of that. Kim Phu

Free Pac-Man Episode Download on XLA Video Marketplace [Silconera]

Classic Media announced today that their cadre of classic cartoon characters are being ushered into the digital age via an agreement with Flashman studios. Together the two companies plan to actively seek out gaming publishers to gamify (my word) icons such as Rocky and Bullwinkle, Dick Tracy, George of the Jungle, and Underdog!

When criminals in this world appear
And break the laws that they should fear
And frighten all who see or hear
The cry goes up both far and near
For Underdog!

Underdog worship aside, it's good to see old favorites being modernized through the medium of gaming. It is NOT, however, good to see them viciously sodomized by a BAD video game and then unceremoniously dumped back in their graves. They'd better step lightly, or Underdog is going to be pissed. Michael Fahey

Classic Toons Tapped for Games [Animation Magazine]

It looks like Special Edition fever has struck the Xbox 360's Poke... um Pinata-festooned game Viva Pinata. When the game hits in November it will come in two fancy flavors. One will include just the game, while the two-disc Special Edition version will come sealed into a colorful Pinata in the shape of a PS3. To get the game out you'll have to smash the paper mache creation with a Wii-mote shaped bat. Once you crack the thing, the game will spill out along with a collection of chocolate offal and Gummy intestines.

Hahahaha. Not really. But wouldn't that be cool? Actually the game comes in a plain as vanilla case, but does include two discs loaded with a bunch of already free playable demos and an episode of the also free Viva Pinata animated series.

Fortunately, the SE copy is only $50. I wonder what the regular copy will run for? Brian Crecente

When the highly-anticipated "Viva Pi ata" video game for the Xbox 360 hits store shelves this November, kids and adults can break into the two-disc Special Edition "Viva Pi ata" Xbox 360 game with added bonuses for the whole family to enjoy. The Special Edition game, available for a limited time, will include playable demos of the season's hottest family-friendly titles and an episode from the "Viva Pi ata" animated series.

"Viva Pi ata," the high-energy, mass-appeal entertainment property created by Rare and brought to life by Microsoft and 4Kids Entertainment, reveals a vibrant world of living pi ata animals designed to capture and inspire the imagination of people of all ages. Kids were recently introduced to the cast of characters from the "Viva Pi ata" animated series now on air and available for download via Xbox Live Marketplace in the US and Canada and soon around the world. They can look forward to even more pi ata fun when the Xbox 360 game hits store shelves this holiday season.

In addition to the "Viva Pi ata" game, which will allow players to create their own environment where they can attract and host more than 60 species of wild pi atas and customize pi ata-filled adventures in their unique-ever-growing world, the Special Edition "Viva Pi ata" game, priced at $49.99 USD, will include:

A playable demo of LucasArts' "LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy," which combines the fun and endless customization of LEGO play and with a hilarious tongue-in-cheek take on the epic story, characters and action from the classic Star Wars: Episodes IV, V and VI films

A playable demo of the arcade classic "Frogger" that is enhanced and reinvigorated for the Xbox 360. The game features new artwork that matches and compliments the original style

A playable demo of "Cloning Clyde" for gamers to explore a visually compelling world filled with hilarious action and crazy adventure as they struggle to escape the clutches of the evil company Dupliclone, Inc.

A "Time Pilot" playable demo for gamers to fly a futuristic fighter jet with the capability to travel through time to destroy wave after wave of enemies

A return to AstroLab for a playable demo of "Marble Blast," where players guide their marbles through a rich cartoon landscape of moving platforms and perilous obstacles

Also included in the Special Edition "Viva Pi ata" game will be a sneak peek at the wacky, zany, anything-can-happen animated TV series, produced by 4Kids Entertainment & Bardel Entertainment. With this full-length episode of the colorful animated series, Kids can experience Pi ata Island for themselves, where multitudes of happy, colorful pi atas live the sweet life.

I just finished watching the premiere of Viva Pinata with my 5-year-od son. He loved it, I thought it was typical empty children's programming.

Obviously, the show is made for children, but I find that children's cartoons come in two flavors: the kind that only children can enjoy and the kind loaded with jokes that only adults get. This one is definitely of the first sort.

While I found Viva Pinata relatively boring, Tristan really seemed to be into it. He thought it was funny that the show was peopled entirely by Pinatas and asked when the show would be on again.

Despite what I thought, the game didn't really seem loaded with game references. Sure, there were a couple: Every time a pinata broke in some way candy would spill out and a bunch of other pinatas would rush over and eat it. I think it was meant to be cute, but I found it more disturbing than anything else.

I did learn one thing from the second episode in the half hour broadcast. A plot point lets you know that if a Horsetachio (that's a horse pinata) eats blackberries and daisies they turn into a Zomba, which looked to be a striped horse pinata.

Meh. Brian Crecente

Msoft's John Porcaro points out that merchandising vehicle Viva Pinata will be hitting Saturday morning television in the coming weeks. He got a chance to check out an episode and says his young kids will love it. I'm still confused about whether this intended to be Pokemon or the Sims. Brian Crecente

Viva Pinata on TV [Gamerscoreblog]

This opinion piece on CantonRep.com addresses the high pregnancy rate of students at Timken High School, and places blame squarely on everything except lack of access to birth control and decent sex education. These two things are not mentioned once in the entire article.

Video games, however, are.

Whose fault is it that more than 13 percent of Timken's girls are with child? Some would say fault-finding isn't a fruitful exercise, but in this case, it's critical. Suspects range from movies, TV and video games to lazy parents and lax discipline. Only one thing is sure: Schools don't impregnate children.

This is the first and last time games are mentioned, but that they're mentioned at all is frankly shocking.

Here we are, the gaming "community" as it were, desperately trying to get girls to play games, any games, and it turns out that Ohio teens are so far ahead of us that they've found a way to actually impregnate each other with them. Eliza Gauger

The 'irresponsible' should get blame [Canton Rep, via Digg]

Konami and Majesco have teamed-up to slap together a craptastic Dance Dance Revolution spin-off featuring Strawberry Shortcake and her posse of confections. Apparently the Care Bears, Smurfs and Mr Magoo had their dance cards full.

Strawberry Shortcake Dance Dance Revolution lets players experience the exciting action of DDR with a Strawberry Shortcake twist. Featured characters include Strawberry Shortcake, Blueberry Muffin, Raspberry Torte, Lemon Meringue and Rainbow Sherbet dancing along with themed music such as "Straw-Buh-Buh-Buh-Buh-Berry Shortcake." As a Plug'N'Play product, Strawberry Shortcake Dance Dance Revolution connects directly to a television set without a game console, delivering an interactive experience on a custom Strawberry Shortcake dance pad. The game features a two player mode and multiple difficulty settings that make it easy for players of all ages to enjoy, while the game's lively music makes it a great source of active fun for the whole family.

I think anytime a game does anything associated with a talking bit of pitiable desert food it's time to close up shop. Brian Crecente

Click the image to see full size, hosted here on Joystiq.

I love this. This is a fantastic new style and I am stoked for this game now. The distinctiveness of the different classes, the anatomy of the characters, the color palette and personality...the art department on this game is a winner. Look at the little touches like the athletic socks on the guy on the right, and the pants bunching under the kneepads of the engineer.

This is attention to detail, and characterization, and just overall excellent design. I can't wait to see them in action. Eliza gauger

As a result of the game's success Nintendo has already hinted at plans for a Wii version and is also planning an animated movie, to open in Japan this December. Unnamed members of the game's development team are said to be involved in the production, which will apparently retain the themes which has made it so popular - despite the fact that the game has no overarching storyline or ending. The director of the movie will be Jouji Shimura, who has previously worked on properties such as Master Keaton and Shin Angyo Onshi.

Nintendo has previously hinted at plans to enter the animation business, although it is unclear whether this new Animal Crossing project is a major part of those plans, or merely a separate response to the game's success.

Actually, Nintendo getting into animation is a fantastic idea. They have a portfolio of kid friendly characters to easily rival Disney or Warner Bros... yet their game worlds tend to have a touch of surreality to them, like Fleischer Brothers shorts. As long as it was the sort of animation that used to be ubiquitous — high-quality, aimed at children and adults alike — I could see myself getting excited about a Mario animated movie. - Florian Eckhardt

Previously: Anime Crossing
Animal Crossing Hits 3 Million In Japan, Anime Planned [Gamasutra]

Microsoft blogger extraordinaire TriXie unveiled the new, slick art for her and the other Xbox bloggers.

The new illustrations involved a photo shoot and "weeks and weeks of hard work by our uber-talented Xbox.com art team."

Sure, they each have their own swanky illustrations, but do they have a bobble head.

Hit the jump for the new pics.