By Agence France-Presse

TOKYO–Nintendo Co. said Thursday it will start offering videos through its blockbuster Wii game console, the latest new feature for the Japanese entertainment giant.

Nintendo said it would develop original programming which Wii users could access via the Internet and watch on their television. It is considering videos for both free and fees.

The game giant teamed up with Japan’s leading advertising firm Dentsu Inc. to develop the service, which will begin in Japan next year, with an eye on future expansion into foreign markets.

Japanese rival Sony Corp. has already started using its popular PlayStation series for online movie sales and advertising by placing corporate messages inside games, which often have highly niche audiences.

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MANDALUYONG CITY — Game development firm Kuju Manila has launched the first Filipino-made Nintendo Wii game called Circus Games.

Circus Game was launched in the US this October and is targeted at younger players, groups and families.

The game can be played by up to two players and has about 20 different circus themed mini-games. These require the use of the NintendoWiimote and the nunchuk attachment.

Some of the mini-games require players to shoot or throw objects while others allow for catching items.

The game is published by French company Ubisoft, which distributes popular titles such as Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell series. The game is also sold locally at Datablitz for about P2,000.

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By Alex Villafania, hackenslash Reporter
INQUIRER.net

YOUR Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wiis are environmentally poisonous. So says the latest review of electronic waste by environmental advocacy group Greenpeace.

The latest Guide to Greener Electronics by Greenpeace has rated console makers for the first time since the quarterly report started about a year ago. It also included LCD TVs, which are fast replacing old CRT monitors as the display panels of choice.

The game console business is also one of the reasons more consumers are buying LCD TVs.

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By Agence France-Presse

TOKYO, Japan–It could soon be game over for the Famicom, the vintage family computer that two decades ago set Japan’s Nintendo on a path to become a global video game icon.

Nintendo has decided to stop repairing the Famicom, the console that wowed the world with Super Mario Bros. and Dragon Quest, because stocks of spare parts are running out, company spokesman Ken Toyoda said.

The family computer, which was sold as the Nintendo Entertainment System in the United States and Europe, made its world debut in Japan in 1983.

Boasting far superior graphics to any other home video game console on the market at that time, it went on to sell almost 62 million units worldwide, and was followed by the Super Famicom, repairs of which will also be halted.

“Some say it’s sad Famicom is leaving and players are nostalgic, but Nintendo’s saga has not ended. We want people to enjoy the Wii now,” said the spokesman for the Kyoto-based firm, which began in 1889 making playing cards.

Nintendo can hardly keep up with demand for the Wii, which is known for its innovative motion-sensitive controller and aimed at customers who normally would not play video games.

By Hiroko Tabuchi
Associated Press

TOKYO, Japan–Fresh off bumper earnings, Nintendo Co. ruled out a price cut for its smash hit Wii video game console Friday and announced the company will being selling the Wii in China next year.

Profits at Nintendo have surged on the runaway success of the Wii and the portable Nintendo DS machine in North America, Europe and Japan, forcing rivals Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. to slash console prices in a desperate catch-up bid ahead of the holiday season.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said the company was struggling to meet demand of the Wii and a price cut was out of the question. The Wii sells for $249.99 in North America, €249.00 in Europe and 25,000 yen in Japan — all less than Sony’s PlayStation 3 or Microsoft’s Xbox 360.

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