EDISON, N.J., November 19, 2008 - Food lover and culinary cutie Cooking Mama is a virtual chef who believes that good home cooked food, properly prepared from the best ingredients, can bring people together around the table and make the world a happier place. That's why Mama is taking a stand with oven mitts raised high against the latest PETA objection targeting her freshly released videogame, Cooking Mama World Kitchen, that shipped this week for Wii™ from Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL). Mama wants people to know that World Kitchen includes 51 recipes from around the world, ranging from vegetarian fare like miso soup and rice cakes to international delicacies like ginger pork and octopus dumplings.
"I would never put rat in my Ratatouille," said a feisty Mama while beating some eggs. "Like any accomplished cook, I create my recipes to appeal to a broad range of tastes and preferences. My only goal is to ensure you leave the table well fed."
Cooking Mama World Kitchen includes more than 25 vegetarian-friendly recipes including delicious breakfast, dinner, dessert and snack options. And, while Mama is not a vegetarian, she fully supports the humane treatment of animals, particularly for her canine protιgι Max who makes his doggie debut in World Kitchen.
Sturdy Bright Saber Light Sword Allows Star Wars Fans Opportunity to Defend the Galaxy Without Relying on External Batteries or Power Source
Fremont, California, (November, 2008) Jedi™ power just got a lot more lethal with the announcement of Penguin United’s new “Bright” Saber Dual Pack available just in time for the holidays. Penguin’s Bright Saber light sword draws its power straight from the Wii remote instead of any external power source as gamers fight their foes while saving money on batteries.
The Bright Saber is made from light weight, highly durable, round surface plastic. The dual pack comes with two light swords, one blue and one red that are built with safety in mind. The Bright Saber is also equipped with an easy locking mechanism and has a suggested retail price of only $19.99 in most galaxies.
Richard Huang, Penguin’s President and resident Jedi Master, prophesied: “The Bright Sabers will help any intergalactic combatants defeat their foe. They’ll also save them from having to constantly buy new batteries as they save the universe from the Dark Side. They also look really cool, too, and the durable plastic will live longer than Yoda™.”
The Bright Saber Dual Pack for Nintendo Wii is one of many peripherals the company has launched to a Nation weary of overpriced and under performing accessories.
Available January, 2009 SimAnimals Allows You to Take the Wild World of Animals
REDWOOD CITY, CA November 20, 2008 Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that award-winning composer Winifred Phillips will score the theme music for the newest IP in The Sims™ family, SimAnimals™. Winner of four Game Audio Network Guild Awards, Phillips has been repeatedly recognized for her contributions to videogames, TV and radio. Most recently she was nominated for a Hollywood Music Award for her work on Speed Racer: The Videogame. Now, her talents will be used to make the forest come alive in SimAnimals!
“Our goal was to give a unique and sophisticated voice to the game,” said Robi Kauker, Audio Director for The Sims Label. “Drawing inspiration from pieces like Prokofiev’s Peter and The Wolf, we found the context of the game gave us plenty of opportunity for the timelessness of the orchestra’s instruments and the rich range of Winifred’s compositions.”
In SimAnimals, you can venture into the wild world of animals like never before. You have the power to reach out and touch, pick up and move everything in the forest from squirrels and foxes to trees and flowers. As you journey deeper and deeper into the forest, you can feed a bear what he craves, pick up a rabbit or a hedgehog and bring him to his friends or water your favorite tree and watch it grow. Throughout your voyage you will make new animal friends and discover what other creatures lurk in the wild. In SimAnimals, you have the ability to engage wild animals, experience life in the forest and run the wild!
Your journey through the forest is comprised of many small musical moments that combine as the soundtrack. Each location starts off with a unique score, from strains of Celtic music for ancient castle ruins to the funky groove of the old junkyard. Small melodies of solo orchestra instruments underscore the big events of the animals’ lives and fully orchestrated moments define the player’s choices in the world. The music is designed to ground the complexities of the animal’s life in the human scale of emotions. As the fortunes of the world reflect the player’s interactions and creative, fun and mischievous choices, the music gives voice to a forest rejoicing or suffering. When the individual animals are in distress due to neglect, the music calls out, and during moments of pure happiness, like the arrival of a new born, the music shares the tender warmth.
“We are very excited about the caliber of music being included in SimAnimals. We needed the music to reflect the status and mood of the game and Winifred has nailed that with her score,” said Sam Player, Executive Producer of SimAnimals. “As you move through the game, you will hear how your choices are affecting the forest through the music, whether that be upbeat and light when the forest is happy or dramatic and dark when the forest is not so happy.“
Phillips is an American music composer for video games and radio as well as a published fantasy author. Working with music producer Winnie Waldron, Phillips has written music for the video games Shrek the Third, The Da Vinci Code, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and God of War. Her work on the God of War video game received an Interactive Achievement Award in the category of “Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition” from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.
“It is extremely inspiring for my music producer Winnie Waldron and I to be involved in a blockbuster project like SimAnimals, where the music sets the tone for the entire user experience,” said Phillips. “Working on a brand new game allows me to have creative control over the sound from the start with nothing to compare it to, which is invigorating and quite an honor.”
For more information about SimAnimals, please go to www.SimAnimals.com. For assets related to this story, please go to www.electronicarts.co.uk/press
New Iteration of Best-Selling Charge Station Docks Up to Four Controllers
LOS ANGELES - Nov. 20, 2008 Premier gaming peripherals manufacturer Nyko Technologies® today announced an enhanced version of its best-selling Charge Station™ for Nintendo Wii™, the Charge Station Quad™. The new Charge Station Quad option increases the current model’s capacity by adding two additional docks, NiMH batteries, and Nyko’s signature battery covers with rubber grips. While maintaining the quality and reliability that made the original Charge Station a hit, Wii owners now have a place to store and charge up to four Wii Remotes™ with the Quad, ready for action at all times. Retail shipments are expected in December, just in time for the holidays.
Main features of the new Charge Station Quad for Nintendo Wii: - Charge up to four Wii Remotes at the same time - LED charge indicator lights - Includes four NiMH rechargeable battery packs - Six foot long power cable for convenient placement - Four rubber Wii Remote battery covers for superior grip
“The original Charge Station for Wii proved to be one of the most sought after Nyko products and the highest selling third party peripheral in North America,” said Chris Arbogast, director of marketing at Nyko Technologies. “Keeping in line with our goal of providing value, quality, and an improved gaming experience, we’re proud to reveal the new Charge Station Quad. We look forward to offering Wii gamers this great upgrade option to the original Charge Station.”
The Charge Station Quad for Nintendo Wii is expected to retail at an MSRP of $49.99.
Download the Charge Station Quad press kit using the following link: www.triplepointpr.com/dl/nyko/Wii_ChargeStationQuad.zip (3MB)
For more information on these and other Nyko products, please visit: www.nyko.com.
Stourbridge, England, 20th November 2008. Crazy Mini Golf is more than just seaside fun and games on a rainy day, it’s actually an international sport, which we British excel at! Chris Harding - the current British Champion and 2007 World title holder - regularly tours the world with his putter in hand, taking on all contenders. This week, he took time out of his busy schedule to visit the Data Design Interactive development studio where he put his skills to the test in a game of “Kidz Sports - Crazy Mini Golf”. “Kidz Sports - Crazy Mini Golf” is available on Nintendo Wii.
QUOTE from Chris Harding
I knew from the start that quite a lot was at stake, this was going to be a serious game. The lads had beer and pizza on the table, and were egging each other on. It’s about reputations and I wasn’t going to go down without a fight, and I have to say this is a brilliant game - I had a fantastic time, I haven’t laughed so much in ages. True, this doesn’t capture the feel of a real game where you have to put up with wind, rain and sometimes snow, but there is (as in golf) serious science in this game; positioning, speed and angle are all there, plus the most important part - the fun...
Data Design Interactive a successful video games publisher and games developer, are pleased to announce that the street date and price structure for their Nintendo Wii game entitled ‘Kidz Sports - Crazy Mini Golf’ to be released on their Popcorn Arcade label, available in two format: standalone version £19,99 or bundle pack with putter peripheral £24,99.
Kidz Sports - Crazy Mini Golf’ offers players 72 crazy holes set over 4 wacky courses... Have fun and a lot of laughs creating customised Kidz Sports versions of you and your friends to play in game as DDI roll out the first title using their all new ‘NuYu’ character editor. In multiplayer modes your opponents will also appear in game and can cheer or taunt your play on the green.
DDI also recognise that mini golfing is fun and in case your non- golfing auntie also wants to play, `Kids Sports Crazy Mini Golf` also has a simpler, arcade style fast-play mode. Play 9 or 18 holes, multiplayer with friends, or solo and try to beat your best, or the world’s best scores for each hole. Lots of challenges and lots of fun.
Take your putting to the next level with Kidz Sports: Crazy Mini Golf.
DDI’s brand new NuYu editor lets you put yourself in the game by creating customisable characters that fit your personality. You can then use those characters in compatible NuYu games and even save them to your Wii Remote to take to a friend’s house.
“From the Abyss” is a hack ‘n slash RPG in the spirit of true video gaming for the Nintendo DS™! In this parallel universe players will be able to explore the vast world of Rubenhaut through a unique world creation engine exclusively created for the game. In “From the abyss”, the player will fight huge monsters with swords, spells and special abilities! A fast paced & action packed game for gamers!
The game also features an intuitive control scheme, lavish artwork, and an engaging 2 player co-op battle system.
Key Features:
Explore your own unique Abyss! Every time you start a new journey the game will randomly generate a custom world for a unique experience each time!
Customize your character! Distribute skill points that will define your character’s powers and destiny. Will you go the way of the sword or be a powerful spell caster?
Capture your enemy’s soul! Steal the enemy’s techniques and use them to turn the tide in battle!
Co-op Mode! Wirelessly connect with a friend and fight together to defeat the Demon Lord of the Abyss!
I'm not sure why, but the server seems to be acting up. It seems that someone has compromised our topsite program, and now, I can't delete a new member (who seems to be the cause of the issue).
I'm going to shut down the topsite temporarily. Hopefully this corrects the problem.
Like the team behind Acekard, Team Cyclops has released a video of them running their CycloDS cart on a DSi! Please note that this is also a lab experiment, and little information has been released.
"Team Cyclops are pleased to announce that for some time we have had a working test setup which is capable of running CycloDS Evolution on the Nintendo DSi. We must stress however that this is part of our research only; there is still a great deal of work to be done before we can even decide if a DSi compatible device is viable or not. The DSi features a completely redesigned security system which renders all current devices incompatible and at this stage it is unknown if there is any reliable way to overcome the new measures. We will continue our research into the DSi and in the mean time, please see the following video which demonstrates what we have achieved so far." - Team Cyclops
Yes guys, it's really been two years to the day that the Nintendo Wii launched in North America. I still remember the day Wii launched. Back in those days, I spent my time hanging out at the NSider forums. I remember being one of the first to post about the Wii in their forums, even though I didn't get mine till January 2007.
Hard to believe it's been two years. Looking back at that day brings back such good memories, and such torture of not getting mine for a while later.
Happy 2nd Birthday, Wii! May you live long, and have many more good games available in 2009!
HONG KONG: Viewed from an aerial perspective of Hong Kong's nighttime skyline, the bright neon lights of the city create a futuristic setting for Level 1. The skills you learned in the tutorial are all you need to progress through Level 1 and defeat the Chinese Statue boss. Watch for clouds that can block your shots. Aim for the balloons that the enemies hang on to. The end boss has four forms, watch out for the homing bullets he fires.
Enroll in Magic Academy, Build Friendships, Cast Spells and Embark On Adventure In This Brand-New Title That Is Fun For All Ages
EL SEGUNDO, CA - November 18, 2008 - Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. announced today that Little Magician's Magic Adventure is currently in development for the Nintendo DS™ system. In this unique combination of an adventure game and simulation RPG players are tasked with attending classes in Magic Academy while learning the mysteries of magic and the art of casting spells while building relationships with other students. As players attend classes, build relationships and master the art of magic, they can explore the wonders of the enchanted world that surrounds them. Using their spell casting abilities and unique interactions with their surroundings players are confronted with puzzles and adventures that will challenge their skill.
As players attend Magic Academy, they'll be immersed in a living, breathing world where time flows as it does in the real world, and each week, player's wizardry skills are put to the test in a new magical adventure. Custom avatars can be made with 1500 varieties of clothing, furniture and characters to choose from. Additionally, players can learn new magic spells and abilities by forming different bonds with the 150 unique characters populating the world. Different stories and adventures will be revealed depending on what bonds are formed with the game's characters and how the player chooses to solve each of the 52 adventures. Gather information from friends and mythical characters in order to solve quests. Use all the magic learned to become the greatest magician of all time!
Little Magician's Magic Adventure features Wi-Fi connection to play with a friend, allowing players additional, unique story lines and interactions. Players can also use the Wi-Fi connection to chat with anyone in the world by utilizing the games global magic alphabet.
Little Magician's Magic Adventure will be released in February 2009 on the Nintendo DS™. For more information, please visit: www.konami.com.
19th November 2008 - Cambridge, UK - Frontier Developments, one of Europe's leading independent game developers, is delighted to announce a partnership with Square Enix to publish Frontier's critically-acclaimed WiiWare title LostWinds in Japan and Asia.
"Square Enix is a very successful, development-led organization with a total commitment to quality," said David Braben, Frontier's Chairman and founder. "Frontier shares those same core ideals and we are very pleased to be doing business together. Square Enix's strength in Japan will give LostWinds the chance to shine there, as it has done elsewhere."
LostWinds topped the WiiWare charts in both the US and Europe upon launch of the new distribution system in May 2008. The game also gathered a host of high scoring reviews praising its deep, explorative gameplay and beautiful art style.
LostWinds picked up Develop Magazine's 'Best New IP' award in July 2008, a prestigious accolade voted on by Frontier's games industry peers.
LostWinds is an enchanting adventure bursting with new gameplay ideas that embrace the innovative controller of the Wii - it puts "the power of the wind in the palm of your hand".
