Capcom Knows Importance of Foreign Business, Opens New French Subsidiary

Europe, Capcom's looking at you. That's right, you. The company announced that it established a new local French subsidiary called "Capcom Entertainment France, S.A.S." and has funded it 100 percent through it's continental subsidiary company CE Europe, Ltd. Established with €37,000 in capital, the focus of this new subsidiary is improving local marketing and direct game software sales. Besides France, Capcom also has subsidiaries in England and Germany. According to Capcom: "From now, the foreign home console market is anticipated to expand, and to accomplish future business growth, it's extremely important to strengthen our overseas sales network." With all the cold shoulders and looks of indifference Europe gets from most Japanese companies, sure nice to see someone is serious about the European (and international) market.

フランスにおける子会社設立に関するお知らせ" [Capcom]

We. Are. Confused. 2008 was supposed to be the last year the Games Convention was held in Leipzig. Starting next year, we were meant to get a bigger, badder European show in the more travel-friendly city of Cologne. We were happy with this news, we'd accepted it, were reading up on Cologne seeing who does the best fry-up breakfast. But now the organisers of Leipzig have announced that they'll be staying on, and will be holding another Games Convention in 2009. Which, if we're not mistaken, will give us two tradeshows in Germany next year. And we all know that, in the interests of good business, there can (and shold) be only one.

Leipzig Games Convention Not Moving [Next-Gen]

Europeans Find Good Use For Wii Fit Board: Controlling WoW

Anyone still using their Wii Fit Balance Board? Matthieu and Simon, students at German Research Centre For Artificial Intelligence, are! They've got the board hooked up to a PC via Bluetooth and are using the Nintendo peripheral as a World of Warcraft movement controller. Nice to see some folks still using the Balance Boards innovating.

Oh, and the music used in this video is FRIGGIN' AWESOME.

WoW Fit [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

Wii Remote Graf Mod Looks Truly Exciting

And no, not because it raises the prospect of a Wii port of Mark Ecko's Getting up. It's because, when I look at this excellent, home-made modification - crafted by German uni student Martin Lihs - that sees a can of spray paint turned into a fully-functioning Wii Remote, I think of a Wii version of Jet Set Radio (with 1:1 tagging), then I get a little giddy, then I get a little dizzy, then I need to go sit down for a bit.

Wiispray turns Wii Remote into virtual graffiti spray can [Engadget]

Conan Conquers GTA In Europe

Now to be honest, the latest game sales charts out of Europe show Funcom's PC MMO Age of Conan beating out Grand Theft Auto IV in only two of three countries charted, the odd country out is Spain, which - no offense to our Spanish readers - is the European country I forget exists nine times out of ten. Face it, you guys are quiet over there. You and Portugal, just kicking back on the beach, playing Wii Play and Mario Kart.

Meanwhile, in Germany and Sweden, Conan is laying waste to the sales charts, soundly trashing GTA IV on both consoles. Seems like a clear win, but you also have to take into account that many people buying GTA have already bought it, and this is Germany and Sweden we are talking about, where Conan isn't just a book...it's a way of life. If you close your eyes you can almost hear the melodic death metal ringing across those icy hilltops as players in both countries talk about frame rates in OOC chat for hours and hours.

GTA IV Surrenders to Conan in European Charts [Next Generation]

Nintendo Not Attending Leipzig This Year

Germans Make The Worst Halo Jokes

Army Of Two Refused Classification In...Yes, Germany

Leipzig Might (*Might*) Still Go Ahead in 2009

steht die Games Convention 2009 weiterhin im Kalender (For now, the 2009 Games Convention is still on the calendar).

GTA IV Cleared For German Release

Leipzig Officially Moving To Köln

Leipzig Looking More And More Likely To Move

German Hardware Sales Show 360 Isn't Their Cup Of Tea

New Mario Kart Wii Info "Speculation" And "Rumor"

Nintendo has not announced any further information on Mario Kart. We've spoken to the magazine and it's just pure rumor and speculation on their part.

Germans Make Pun Of PS3 For Wii Ghost Squad Ad

How do you know when you've made it? When the Germans, famous for their rapier wit and brooding lifestyle photography send you up in a magazine ad for Sega's Wii shooter Ghost Squad. Obviously, Ghost Squad doesn't take itself too seriously, but who knew the boys and girls in the marketing department were so quick with the PlayStation 3 puns? They don't stop there, apparently, as it seems no game franchise is spared the hilarious Sega of Germany treatment. You guys! I'm going to start wagging my finger in mock disapproval if you don't stop!

Please, no Wii Date Rape jokes in the comments. It's beneath you.

Ghost Squad: neue Printanzeige [WiiGamer via UK:R]

"We are very proud of the cooperation with 'Blind Guardian' and look forward to providing the band with a virtual stage in our game. For many years I've been a big fan of the band, and I'm sure the new SACRED 2 - Fallen Angel-themed single will be a hit with fans too", says Holger Flöttmann of ASCARON.

German UT3 Lacks Corpse Desecration

With Germany keeping a close eye on violent video games, Midway Germany had to make a few small modifications to the country's version of Unreal Tournament 3 to obtain a 16+ rating and avoid the mighty Deutschland banhammer. While the majority of the game remains intact, a few choice changes involving dead people had to be made.

We had to make some minor changes to the game to get an age rating at all. [...] The biggest change is that you can't shoot already dead people (and they won't explode into thousand parts) and that ragdoll is disabled for dead people as well.

UT3 German Edition Lacks Ragdolls, Gibs [Planet Unreal]

Sure, Germans love banning games. But, why? German fella 3r0t1c n3rd over at game blog Destructoid does a great job explaining the situation. Let's dive right on in:

The reasons for banning media can range from violence to illegal content. For example, every book about producing drugs or growing weed is illegal in germany.

So what if a game is banned? Well the game goes on the Index, which is basically a list of media which is banned. Media on the index is not allowed for sale to persons below the age of 18. Also any advertising, in media that is accessible to persons below the age of 18 for it is illegal. Same goes for import and export, for persons under the age of 18. And it's legal to sell them under the counter in stores, but (you guessed it) only to persons over the age of 18.