Playing through it while sticking to the more virtuous decisions netted me a three-piece chicken costume. Playing through again on evil got me a nasty expression book and a vial of pink dye. Hit the link and let us know what prizes you come up with. Together we'll collect the whole set!

Fable II Storybook Game [Xbox.com - Thanks Jose!]

Well, no, actually. To interrupt your scheduled grumblings about know-nothing moral guardians and anti-games cliches I bring news that several figures from Church of England groups and charities met at a round table chat organised by the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) and came to the conclusion that this gaming lark might actually have something positive to contribute to society.

Mike Royal, national director of the Lighthouse Group said that games can encourage children to talk about 'boundaries' and what behavior is good and acceptable, not only in gaming but other aspects of their lives.

Up next - Jack Thompson "really getting in to Tales of Vesperia".

Computer And Video Games Are Good for us!! [Yet Another Review Site]

A survey by The Pew Research Center has 'revealed' that around ninety seven percent of American children regularly play video games (boys: 99%, girls 94%). Possibly, the other three percent are being punished for something and have had their consoles nailed to a tree.

Its not all stating the bleedin' obvious, over at Pew towers. More revealing was the broad spectrum of games that America's youth are playing.

All genres get a look in, with racing, action, puzzle games and sports being the most popular. More that two thirds of the kids surveyed played online, with games being seen as a social activity rather than the solitary pastime so often portrayed in the media.

Survey: Nearly every kid a video gamer[SF Gate]

As I was standing there an ambulance pulls up, with medical technicians rushing into the building. A couple of minutes later they come up with an Asian teen writhing about in the stretcher, screaming the most blood-curdling scream I've ever heard, over and over again. I saw no blood, and his body looked okay outwardly - he was just screaming nonstop. I waited til they closed the door to snap the picture, out of respect, but even within the sturdy van I could still hear him wailing away.

I did ask around to see if anyone knew what happened, but no dice. I am just going to go ahead and assume he got hopped up on speed and attempted to play My Horse and Me 2.

Hit the jump for the full run.

This video was recorded in NetDevil's second Lego Universe Project event. According to Scott Brown, NetDevil's president, in the first LUP event they asked these Lego users to give them an idea of what the game should be like, which of course resulted in them building hundreds of actual Lego models of monsters, places, and all kinds of devices, machinery, and vehicles.

After that session, NetDevil started to program the software tools and the models needed to design Lego Universe terrains and structures. Now, in the second LUP event, they have trained those Lego people on the tools themselves, which they are using to create the virtual worlds. Apparently, NetDevil is very impressed by how fast these people—who in their day jobs are mostly engineers—got into the tools after just a three-hour class. Hopefuly that means things are progressing fast and we will see this game—which seems to have great potential—sooner than later.

Video games often face a challenge: what does playing a game do to people in the world? In the case of entertainment games, such a question asks about the effects of violence on players, or about how players find and evaluate meaning in games.

In training, advertising, and learning games, the question asks how players take knowledge they learned in a game and apply it in their daily lives. The motivational (and compulsive) aspects of games suggest other ways gameplay can influence behavior. But such matters cover only part of the intersection between our game lives and our ordinary lives ....

Performativity in discourse produces action. Performativity in video games couple gameplay to real-world action. Performative gameplay describes mechanics that change the state of the world through play actions themselves, rather than by inspiring possible future actions through coersion or reflection.

The performative aspects of games go far beyond 'serious' games, and Bogost has a number of interesting examples — good reading for a lazy weekend.

Persuasive Games: Performative Play [Gamasutra]

My favorite part of "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" came when they figured out the paradoxes of time travel and, simply by saying "Must remember to bring a trash can!" one appears in Ted's hands and he stuffs it over a bad guy's head.

Not that you can do any of that in "Chronotron," but the idea is the same, think in the present, giving orders to yourself in the past. Sort of. In Chronotron, the idea is to Clone multiple versions of yourself, using a time machine, to get through a puzzle level. The catch — all past versions will spawn and recreate your actions, so you need to think in chronological order for each step of the puzzle, and leave enough time for your final self to get through the gates and ride the risers to your objective.

It's a hell of a fun flash game — my co-worker showed it to me yesterday, so I can vouch for its productivity killing effect.

Chronotron [Addicting Games]

First up is Enigmo, a physics-based puzzle game that involves getting water into a container using a reflector. The game is extremely CPU intensive, and according to Greenstone the iPhone handles it like a champ.

Next up is Cromag Rally - A 3D cave man racing game in the same vein as Mario Kart, only using the iPhone's motion sensor to turn the entire device into a steering wheel.

Both games were originally OS X based, and porting the games from the Mac to the iPhone platform only took the developers 3 days. Very impressive! Look for both games to be available at $10 a piece on launch. Check out the Mac OS X pages for Cromag Rally and Enigmo for more information.

[Image Credit: Gizmodo's Liveblog]

Still, to the designers, hat-tip for rendering it like an old 4-bit PC game. I dunno, the tone just seems to deserve that kind of treatment. And also note how your dino farts after you chow down on less fortunate sauropods. Hat-tip for that, too.

Dino Run [Pixeljam, thanks Rob]

We mentioned Michael Abbot (of the Brainy Gamer) and his efforts to put together a great syllabus for his history of RPGs class; as promised, he's now posted the reading list (required readings will be culled from this list, but it's a pretty nice little bibliography for background reading). At this point, it just includes traditional books and articles, but he's planning on expanding it to online and popular media sources, as well as other good ideas sent in by people who are keeping tabs on this project:

You'll find some esoteric stuff here, but every title is germane to the subject in one way or another. I've also included books like Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces and Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, portions of which I plan to assign as foundational texts.

So far the bibliography only includes traditional materials (books and academic journals). I'm working on supplementing the list with online and popular media resources devoted to RPGs ...

Here's the list. If I've omitted a title you think should be included, please let me know. If you have a favorite website or online essay devoted to RPGs (history, analysis, special focus on a single game or developer, etc.), please feel free to drop me a comment. I'll be sure to add it to the list I'm working on, which will be posted here in a few days.

It's quite an impressive list, and if you've got room on your list of things to read, wander over and check it out — or add your own suggestions for good go-to sources for a class of this nature.

RPG syllabus - books and journals [The Brainy Gamer]

Hit the jump for 3 quasi-games that will bring a few minutes of fun to a hardcore GTA fan. Oh, and the spastic theme music is coming from the third box. Click "beverage menu" to start and things get a lot quieter.

No doubt, video games are easy fodder when speaking about "family values" for all the stereotypical reasons. But to lump all games together is a dated philosophy, ignoring—aside from what I'd argue could be familial benefits—their huge potential to revolutionize education through their ability to capture attention spans and motivate success...let alone the current ways they tacitly instruct the scientific method, resource management and spacial reasoning.

Barack Obama: 'Parents should clamp down on games' [MCVUK]

[blog.instantaction.com]

Bomberman Land (WII, PSP)
Bomberman brings hot bombing action to the Wii and PSP.

Bomberman Land Touch! 2 (DS)
The follow up to the popular Bomberman Land Touch for the DS.

Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice (PSP)
Fight gang warfare in Capital City.

The Sims: Castaway Stories (PC)
It's like the Sims version of LOST except you actually know what's going on.

FlatOut: Head On (PC, PSP)
Crash cars and blow stuff up.

Samurai Warriors: Katana (WII)
Swing your katana in this Samurai Warriors spin off.

Rail Simulator (PC)
You can make trains too, just like the big boys.

Furu Furu Park (WII)
More mini games for the Wii.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Hard Evidence (WII)
The TV show comes to your Wii in game form.

Nanostray 2 (DS)
Part two of the trippy shooter

Nitrobike (WII)
Rocket bikes! Need I say more?

Miami Nights: Singles in the City (DS)
Virtually explore the hot, hot hot Miami singles scene.

Corvette Evolution GT (DS)
Race car driving on your DS.

[via: CheapAssGamer]

ACTIVISION, PONTIAC AND HOT TOPIC PARTNER ON A NATIONAL PROMOTION GIVING GUITAR HERO FANS THE CHANCE TO WIN A PONTIAC G5

Details of Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock Tournament
Powered By The Pontiac Garage Revealed

SUNNYVALE, CA - November 6, 2007 - To support the launch of Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock, Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), Pontiac and Hot Topic are teaming up on a national promotion giving Guitar Hero fans, ages 16 and older, the chance to show off their fret burning skills and win a 2008 Pontiac G5. During the one month tour, consumers around the country can play the game that everyone is talking about at Hot Topic stores in the following cities:
Date City Mall
11/8 Orland Park, IL (Chicago) Orland Square
11/12 Paramus, NJ (New York/Newark) Garden State Plaza
11/15 Buford, GA (Atlanta) Mall of Georgia
11/19 Austin, TX Barton Creek
11/26 Phoenix, AZ Metro Center Mall
11/29 Las Vegas, NV Meadows Mall
12/3 Northridge, CA (Los Angeles) Northridge Fashion Center
12/5 San Francisco, CA San Francisco Center

Qualifying will take place from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at each stop on the tour. The top eight scores from the Qualifying Round will proceed to the Semi-Final Rounds which will immediately follow.

Winners at each of the eight stops will receive a $100 gift card from Hot Topic. Additionally, winners will submit their high score on an undisclosed song to determine the two national finalists to advance to the Grand-Finals Round. The two Grand-Finals Round participants will win a trip for two to Los Angeles where they will compete in front of the game creators at Activision for the right to drive away in a 2008 Pontiac G5.

Individuals interested in participating can pre-register for the tournament by visiting the designated Hot Topic store starting at 10:30 a.m. five days prior to the tournament date. Pre-registration will close at 5:00 p.m. the evening before the tournament date. Pre-registering is highly recommended as space is limited.

For complete rules visit participating Hot Topic stores or www.guitarhero.com.

Silent Hill: Origins (PSP)
Take a prequel visit to creepy Silent Hill and see how it got so creepy.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (X360, PC, PS3, DS)
World War II is finally over.

Empire Earth III (PC)
take your empire from humble beginnings to outer space.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (WII)
A dubious pairing. But who will win?

Gears of War (PC)
Marcus Fenix and his scarred legions arrive on the PC.

The Simpsons Game (PSP)
D'oh! Just a week behind.

Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War (X360, PS3)
Think Dynasty Warriors in medieval Europe.

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (WII, X360, PS3, DS)
Relive Star Wars through the blocky world of Legos.

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (WII)
Charge of the Dawn Brigade.

F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate (PC)
I fear another expansion is in the works.

F.E.A.R. Files (X360)
Both F.E.A.R expansion packs in one fancy package

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance (PC)
If the original wasn't enough for you.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (DS)
Hunt for monsters and make them do your bidding.

Bee Movie Game (WII)
Ok, let's be honest. Does anyone really care?

The September NPD numbers are in. As we soak them in and try to turn the stream of numbers into something more manageable, check out this quick list of the top ten selling games for the month.

Halo 3 (This combines all three versions) 3.3 million
Wii Play with Remote 282,000
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass 224,000
Madden NFL 08 PS2 205,000
Skate Xbox 360 175,000
Madden NFL 08 Xbox 360 173,000
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption 167,000
Bioshock Xbox 360 150,000
Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day 141,000
Heavenly Sword 139,000

[Thanks, sailorcancer2002]

Kotakuite, Tristan recently cleaned out his game closet and assembled his collection for all to see. Covering over twenty different systems, his collection is quite impressive. It always warms the cockles of my heart to see games all gathered in one place and not be an auction on eBay. Guard your treasure trove well, Tristan, in another 75- 80 years some of those will be bona fide antiques which you can then present on Antiques Roadshow for a tidy sum. Flynn De Marco

• TMNT (X360, PS2, PSP, PC, WII, GC, DS, GBA) Cowabunga Dude! The pizza eating Turtle brothers come to every console known to man.
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (PC)
  Fight mutants, zombies, monsters and mutant zombie monsters in the ruins of Chernobyl
• Cooking Mama: Cook Off (WII)
  Have your own Iron Chef competition!
• Silverfall (PC)
  An all new action RPG to suck more priceless hours of your life away.
• Virtua Tennis 3 (X360, PS3, PSP)
  More better tennis.
• Armored Core 4 (X360, PS3)
  As our own Luke Plukett so eloquently put it, "Go jump into a giant robot and blow up other robots"
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PS3)
  The hugely popular PC and 360 title finally makes it's way onto the PS3. Now with a new race!
• Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai - Another Road (PSP)
  The enormously popular Dragon Ball Z series gets another incarnation on the PSP
• The Godfather: Blackhand Edition (WII)
  The Corleone family makes mince meat outta NYC.
• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (XBLA)
  Kick old school vampire ass in widescreen!

It's a question that's been asked a million times and has sparked endless debate with the likes of Roger Ebert, who in my opinion has no room to talk about art after the travesty that is Beyond The Valley of the Dolls. Gamasutra writer Brian Ochalla (who is a terrific interviewer) rolls the count over to a million and one by posing this question again in his most recent feature story. The difference in this article, however, is that Brian goes right to the heart of the matter and interviews such industry giants as Ian Bogost, Tim Shafer and Peter Molyneux. And while all those interviewed initially met the question with much "here we go again" eye rolling, they do admit to the subjects pertinence to the future of gaming. It's a great read and well worth the time to check out.

Personally, I'm still on the fence about the whole subject. There are certainly plenty of games that have incredible art in them, but whether or not the game itself can be considered art is, as all things like it, in the eye of the beholder. Flynn De Marco

Are Games Art? (Here We Go Again...) [Gamasutra]

• God of War II (PS2)
  Kratos is back and ready to kick ass.
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (WII)
  Tiger Woods swings in to action using the Wii-mote.
• Call of Duty: Roads to Victory (PSP)
  Call of Duty brings it's WWII shooter action to the PSP
• Top Spin 2 (PC)
  Become a Tennis suprstar
• IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 (PC)
  Find out what would have happened if WWII had ended differently
• QuickSpot (DS)
  A concentration style memory game featuring your favorite Namco characters, including the King of All Cosmos and others
• Hans Christian Andersen: The Ugly Prince Duckling (PC)

The world of the famous fairy tale writer come s to life ion this family adventure game

No, you're not having a flashback. That's computer graphics artist and University of Tokyo professor Yoichiro Kawaguchi feeling up "Gemotion," a display he created. It's a screen that buldges and pops out in sync with the displayed graphics. How does it work? There are 72 air cylinders behind that 39 by 24 inch flexible display that are linked to a projector. The push and pull of the cylinders correspond to onscreen action. According to Kawaguchi:

If used with games, TV or cinema, the screen could give images an element of power never seen before. It could lead to completely new forms of media.

You know, TV and movies can have it. Games work just fine on my plasma television. Brian Ashcraft

Crazy Moving Display [Pink Tentacle]

Rock 'n' Roll. Video games. Kindred Spirits. Parents and politicians have targeted both, blaming them for society's ills. That's not the only thing they have in common. Hit titles like Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero or Lumines show how profitable marrying games and music can be. Rocker Dave Navarro sums it up:

To be featured in a video game is probably the greatest way to reach a large audience right now.

The music-game genre is exploding with sales up 80 percent. What's more, traditionally non-music games give musician opportunities to, as hip-hop producer Dan "The Automator" Nakamura" points out, "to not work with the regular music label system, which is so screwed up right now. You can do the kind of record you want to get done and know it will reach a different audience." Nakamura should know, since he scored NBA 2K7, which featured Mos Def, E-40 and A Tribe Called Quest. As gaming and the music industry move closer and closer together, why can't I help feeling they've still got better-looking groupies? Waaay better. Brian Ashcraft

Music, Games, Kindred Spirits [Reuters]

Kyle Orland, formerly of Video Game Media Watch, currently of Joystiq, and now the Media Coverage Columnist over at Game Daily, reviewed a year's worth of Electronic Gaming Monthly's Quartermann rumor mill, to see how it does at predicting things to come in the gaming industry.

Orland reviewed the rumors that appeared in the columns that ran from January to December of 2003. He decided to go back that far to make sure he would be able to accurately track whether they turned out to be true or not.

To deal with the plethora of issues that pop up when someone tries to score the accuracy of a bunch of subjective rumors, Orland scored each rumor outcome on a scale of one to five. With one being completely false and five being completely true.

The end result? EGM's rumor ramblings score a 3.1 out of 5 or a bit more than 50 percent (As the big O pointed out to me, his scale starts at one not zero). While Orland says that means that the rumors are right a bit more than half of the time, that sounds like failing in my book.

Hit up the post for the Excel sheet that shows all of the nitty gritty and his thought process. I hope we see more of these in the future. The only thing I like better than statistics and games is the wonderful blending of peanut butter and chocolate. Brian Crecente

Rumor Report Ratings [Media Coverage]

Otronicon is sure to satisfy every geek bone in your entire body. Not only is it 10 days of gaming and game related events, but it takes place in a science center!

Are you ready for the ultimate gaming experience? Explore the science, art and culture of videogames during 10 days of non-stop events. For all ages and skill levels, including: More than 100 gaming stations, including the Wii, PS3 and XBox360 Pro and amateur HALO 2 competition on the 8-story Cinedome Classic arcade games like Donkey Kong and Pac Man. Cyber-Triathlon, with DDR, Guitar Hero II and Gran Turismo 4 Real simulators rarely available to the public. Hands-on instruction from digital media pros.

Damn, that sounds like a pretty amazing event. If I can scrape the cash together, I'll definitely haul my can down to Orlando and check it out. The Halo 2 competition on the 8-story Cinedome alone would be worth the price. The 100+ gaming stations will include last and new generation consoles, plus there will be an area for handheld owners to challenge each other and play.

Otronicon well be held at the Orlando Science Center from Jan. 12 - 21st. Hours vary, but are mostly in the evenings except for the weekends. For a full listing of all the events, times and ticket information, check out the Otronicon Website. [Thanks, Khalil]

PS3
Blast Factor (C+): Retro shooter with an interesting twist, but not enough to be original.
Cash Gun Chaos (C): Fun little title, probably not worth $10, but still worth playing.
Dark Kingdom (D+): Role-Playing game with sub-par next-gen graphics and crappy controls.
Genji: Days of the Blade (C+): Button masher with impressive graphics and camera issues.
Gundam Crossfire (B): Fun, quasi-technical mech fighter with a steep learning curve and insane difficulty.
Madden 07: (C+): Madden 07, just with a tad better graphics and mostly useless motion controls.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance (B-): Addictive slug-fest with amazing character choices.
NBA 07 (B+): Fast-paced, graphically impressive baller.
Need for Speed Carbon (C): Unimpressive graphics, generic racing.
Resistance: Fall of Man: (A-) Addictive, though not entirely original shooter with decent single player campaign and amazing online play.
Ridge Racer 7 (B-): Amazing arcade racer with intuitive controls and impressive graphics.
Tony Hawk's Project 8: (C-): Annoying controls, more of the same.

Wii
Excite Truck (B): Fun in short bursts, but not deep enough to be a mainstay.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (C-): Annoying, derivative crap with a new control mechanism.
The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess (B): Another Zelda adventure with a few neat twists and interesting controls.
Trauma Center: Second Opinion (B): Nice port of the DS title, though a little too similar to the portable version of the game to be worthwhile for those who have played it.
Wii Sports (B-): One step above mini-games, fun, but more toy than game.

I'll make sure to add quickie grades as I play through more games. Brian Crecente

What's the deal with the shorty cases Sony? How weird. The funny thing is that the PS3 game cases are the same size as an HD-DVD movie. I wonder if Blu-ray movies are going to be the same size as Xbox 360 games, that would be convenient. Brian Crecente

• Johnny Wilson and Noah Falstein talked about using pieces of older games—conversational interaction, for example—as building blocks to design newer games for everyone. They also touched on ethics and point of view, putting you in the shoes of other people and giving you insight as to what their thought processes were.
• Eric Zimmerman, James Paul Gee and Katie Salen discussed kid's modifying and creating simple games as a form of media literacy. Making kids think about interactions between various elements, possibly with a game they sketched out that put you in a game designer's shoes.
• Nick deKanter, Andrea Lauer and Kurt Squire presented the idea that putting history in context with WWII games helped certain kids significantly improve their understanding of geography and history.

More after the jump.

• Jack Emmert (of City of Heroes/Villains fame) pontificated on designing for human behavior in games. He mentioned a fear of talking to other people when going online, which hinders grouping in MMORPGs.
• Mia Consalvo conversed on cheating on both online and offline games. She came up with various groups of cheaters, and classified them into purists (everything's cheating), code is law (it's in the code already so it's not cheating), and cheaters (you can't cheat a machine, only other people).

Jason Chen

Day 1 [Water Cooler Games]

Day 2 [Water Cooler Games]

Nintendo just unveiled their official "launch window game" list for both the Nintendo Wii and Virtual Console. All said there's more than 60 titles in the line-up hitting stores between launch day and the end of the year. That's like a dozen games a week, though I'm told most of them will be out day and date of the console. Many third party titles are still being locked down, though most will launch by the end of November. Expect all the listed VC games to be available by the end of December.

Some tasty launch window titles are Trauma Center: Second Opinion, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metal Slug Anthology, Splinter Cell Double Agent and Call of Duty 3. For the Virtual Console, delicious games include Mario Bros., Sonic the Hedgehog, Space Harrier II, Toe Jam & Earl, F-Zero, SimCity and Bonk's Adventure.

Hit the jump for the full list of games for the Wii and Virtual Console. Brian Crecente

Wii Games

• Wii Sports [Launch title]
• 
  
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess [Launch title]
• 
  
• EXCITE TRUCK [Launch title]
• 
  
• Call of Duty(R) 3
• 
  
• Marvel(TM) Ultimate Alliance
• 
  
• Rapala(R)
• 
  
• Tournament Fishing
• 
  
• Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam(TM)
• 
  
• World Series of Poker(R): Tournament of Champions
• 
  
• Dragon Ball Z(R): Budokai Tenkaichi(TM) 2
• 
  
• Trauma Center(TM): Second Opinion
• 
  
• Madden NFL '07
• 
  
• Need for Speed(TM): Carbon
• 
  
• Elebits(TM)
• 
  
• Happy Feet(TM)
• 
  
• Rampage(R): Total Destruction(TM)
• 
  
• The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy(TM)
• 
  
• The Ant Bully
• 
  
• Super Monkey Ball(TM): Banana Blitz
• 
  
• Metal Slug(TM) Anthology
• 
  
• Super Swing Golf
• 
  
• Avatar: The Last Airbender
• 
  
• Barnyard(R)
• 
  
• Cars
• 
  
• SpongeBob SquarePants(TM): The Creature from the Krusty Krab
• 
  
• Far Cry(R): Vengeance
• 
  
• GT Pro Series
• 
  
• Monster 4X4 World Circuit
• 
  
• Open Season(TM)
• 
  
• Rayman Raving Rabbids(TM)
• 
  
• Red Steel(TM)
• 
  
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent(TM)
• 
  
• Ice Age 2(TM): The Meltdown

Virtual Console Games

• Mario Bros.(R)
• 
  
• The Legend of Zelda(R)
• 
  
• Donkey Kong(R)
• 
  
• Donkey Kong Jr. (R)
• 
  
• Ice Hockey
• 
  
• Pinball
• 
  
• Soccer
• 
  
• Tennis
• 
  
• Urban Champion(R)
• 
  
• Wario's Woods(TM)
• 
  
• Baseball
• 
  
• Solomon's Key
• 
  
• F-Zero(R)
• 
  
• SimCity(TM)
• 
  
• Super Mario(R) 64
• 
  
• Sonic the Hedgehog
• 
  
• Altered Beast
• 
  
• Golden Axe
• 
  
• Columns
• 
  
• Ecco the Dolphin
• 
  
• Gunstar Heroes
• 
  
• Space Harrier II
• 
  
• Toe Jam & Earl
• 
  
• Ristar
• 
  
• Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
• 
  
• Bonk's Adventure
• 
  
• Super Star Soldier
• 
  
• Victory Run
• 
  
• Bomberman '93
• 
  
• Dungeon Explorer

NES games start at 500 Wii Points, Super NES games start at 800 Wii Points and Nintendo 64 games start at 1,000 Wii Points. Sega Genesis games start at 800 Wii Points and TurboGrafx16 games start at 600 Wii Points. Wii Points can be purchased online or at retail at an MSRP of $20 for 2,000 points.

The article goes on to say that the typical Wii game will cost about $7 million to develop, or about half what Xbox 360 and PS3 games cost to develop.

And with the cheap price tag comes greater developer interest, which leads to more games and, potentially a larger market share, which in turn leads to more developer interest.

It's sorta like the opposite of what happened with the GameCube. Brian Crecente

En Garde! Fight Foes Using a Controller Like a Sword [NYT]

Their birthday is coming up and I've been giving some thought as to what to give them. They both like horses and have liked them for years, but I'm sick to death of giving them horsey-paraphenelia. I thought of giving them a gift that was horse-related, like heroin, in the hopes of expanding their interests. But my obnoxious aunt stamped down on that idea pretty hard, although Lilly — due to having to give herself a shot every day for an endocrinological disorder — is already a pretty mean hand with a syringe.

Lacking ideas, I decided that I may as well just fling aside their own interests with the contempt that the ideas, obsessions and passions of little children deserve. Instead, I will use this opportunity to buy them something that I really like... which is video games!

So I'm going to buy them two DS Lites: a pink and a white one, I think, although Aunna is probably going to go goth any day now. But as far as games are concerned, I'm stymied, and could use some input.

I want to buy them two games each. I thought maybe both would get a copy of Nintendogs, which seems like a safe bet. I'd like to buy each of them, then, a separate game, so they could trade. Animal Crossing seemed like a good bet, but outside of that, I have no ideas. Anyone have any suggestions for DS games for little girls? I want them to be good games with a lot of replay value, not just the standard bullshit regurgitated on the system to appeal to girls.

Danke, my little poppets. Florian Eckhardt

Gosh, could you guys in other countries just stop translating Yen or Euros to dollars to extrapolate your prices already? That's just not the way pricing works. You guys can be confident that the only people in the world who will be paying $84 bucks per PS3 game will be the Europeans... if they're lucky. Florian Eckhardt

Sonystyle PS3 Games Pricing [Official Site]

Here's the full list, though if you go to 1Up you get links to every friggin game too. Brian Crecente

Bandai-Namco:
PS2
.hack//G.U. Vol. 2
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny Federation vs. ZAFT II Plus
Naruto: Konoha Spirits
Tales of Destiny
PS3
Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire
Ridge Racer 7
PSP
Gundam Battle Royal
Gunpey
DS
Gunpey
Tales of the Tempest
PC
Hellgate: London Xbox 360
Culdcept Saga
The Idolmaster
Mobile Suit Gundam: Operation Troy
Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream

Capcom:
PS3
Devil May Cry 4
Resident Evil 5
PS2
God Hand
Wii
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles

D3 Publisher:
Xbox 360 Earth Defense Force 3
Onechanbara X: The Devil Evolution Human

Hudson:
PC
Online Bomberman

Interactive Brains:
DS Deep Labyrinth

Irem:
PS2
Bumpy Trot 2
PSP
Blokus Club Portable with Bumpy Trot

More after the jump.

Koei:
PS2
Samurai Warriors 2
PS3
Bladestorm: Hundred Years War
Fatal Inertia
Ni-Oh
Wii
Samurai Warriors Wave
PC
Dynasty Warriors Online
Uncharted Waters Online

Konami:
PS3
Coded Arms Assault
Metal Gear Solid 4
PSP
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
Silent Hill Origins
Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007
DS
Castlevania: Portrait Of Ruin
Lunar Knights
Otogi Juushi Akazukin
Survival Kids: Lost in Blue 2
Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007
Wii
Elebits
Xbox 360
Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007

Marvelous Interactive:
PSP
Valhalla Knights
DS
Harvest Moon
Luminous Arc
River King
Wii
Harvest Moon Heroes

Microsoft:
Xbox 360 Blue Dragon
Lost Odyssey
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom

Tecmo:
PS3
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
Wii
Super Swing Golf PangaYa

tri-Ace:
Xbox 360 Infinite Undiscovery

Sega:
PS2
Appleseed DX
Elvandia Story
Seaman 2
Shining Force Exa
Shining Wind
Yakuza 2
PS3
Armored Core 4
Sega Golf Club
Virtua Tennis 3
PSP
Lost Regnum
DS
Bleach 2
Dynasty Warriors
Guilty Gear Dust Strikers
Tank Beat
Wii
Bleach
Xbox 360
Operation Darnkess

SNK:
PS2
King of Fighters: Maximum Impact 2
King of Fighters XI
King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match
PSP
Metal Slug Anthology
DS
SNK vs. Capcom Card Fighters
Xbox 360
Fatal Fury Special

Sony:
PS3
Gran Turismo HD
Genji: Days of the Blade
Lair
Heavenly Sword
Motorstorm
Resistance: Fall Of Man
Warhawk
PSP
PaRappa the Rapper

Spike:
Wii Necro-Nesia
Square-Enix:

PS2
World of Mana
PS3
Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy Versus XIII
PSP
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
DS
Chocobo no Mahou Ehon
Dragon Quest Monsters Joker
Heroes of Mana
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
It's A Wonderful World
GBA
Final Fantasy V Advance
Final Fantasy VI Advance
Xbox 360
Project Sylpheed
Wireless
Front Mission 2089