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Last week's Wii U announcement might not have won over every gamer out there, but it seems Nintendo has done a good job of getting its message across to developers and publishers.

Following Itagaki's endorsement reported earlier today, Activision Publishing chief Eric Hirshberg is the latest industry figure to express his enthusiasm for the new system.

"It looks like this is a platform that's going to be even more relevant to the kinds of games we make," Hirshberg told IndustryGamers.

"They're committing to HD, greater processing power, digital infrastructure, connected universe at the back end... Those are all the things we need to make a state of the art experience for a lot of games.

"So we were thrilled to hear their plans and I think that anyone that bets against Nintendo does so at their peril. They're a pretty great company."

Hirshberg added that Activision developers were already tinkering around with ideas for the system, though he wouldn't confirm any concrete plans.

"I was very excited about some of the things that I saw in the Wii U because I thought it was an innovative take on the next gen controller and the next gen console. I was really excited to see Nintendo taking their console into something that I think is going to be friendlier to core games."

Activision's key rivals have also shown signs that they're willing to take Wii U seriously as a core gaming machine.

EA boss John Ricitiello climbed on stage during Nintendo's E3 presser to pledge his support; Ubisoft got its own third party E3 round-table to talk up Assassin's Creed, Ghost Recon Online and new FPS IP Killer Freaks From Outer Space; while THQ has confirmed plans to bring Darksiders 2 to the platform next year.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...to-core-gamers ...

Slowly, but surely, we're starting to piece together what's going on inside that mysterious white box known as the Wii U. IBM was a little coy about the multi-core CPU it was providing, but did tantalize us by mentioning the name "Watson" in describing some of its underlying tech. Now details about the custom Radeon GPU are starting to surface and, while certainly capable, it's not exactly cutting edge. At its heart is a chip similar to the R770 found in AMD's last-gen cards like the 4890 and, before you dismiss it, remember the PS3 and Xbox 360 are still capable of pumping out impressive visuals while packing five-year-old silicon (The 360 is essentially running a souped up ATI X1900). The custom core also supports Direct X 10.1 (Microsoft runs out of steam with Direct X 9) and Eyefinity-like multi-display tech for up to four SD video streams -- though it'll be up to Nintendo and developers to put that to good use. In case you're still not convinced of the Wii U's graphical prowess, Crytek has said its advanced CryEngine is "pretty much" up and running on Nintendo's upcoming console -- and, if it's good enough for Crysis, it should be good enough for you.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/14/w...ul-than-ps3-a/ ...

Nintendo took some inspiration from the TV remote for its Wii controller, and it apparently thinks its new Wii U controller could well be the "TV remote of the future." That's just one tidbit from All Things D's sitdown with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who also talked more broadly about the Wii U's new role in the living room. As evidenced by E3, that will include catering to more hardcore gamers than the Wii did, but Iwata says the Wii U is also an effort to take some of the couch time back from folks playing games on tablets, smartphones or laptops. To that end, Iwata says that Nintendo's mission is to "shorten the distance between people and gaming" and remove some of the barriers involved with console gaming, further adding that it's also trying to "reach out to the people who are not interested in video games." Though it's not saying much about it, Nintendo's no doubt hoping to win back a few investors as well. As you may have noticed, the company's stock slipped significantly following its E3 announcement and, while it's bounced back a bit since, it's still well off its Wii-fueled heights of recent years.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/14/n...e-living-room/ ...

Isn't it curious how you always crack open a beer before settling in for some GTA? Or how you tend to put an anxious hand over your wallet when logging onto PSN? No soldier, it is not curious. Not at all. But this is: Researchers at North Carolina State University claim they've found a way to predict your in-game behavior with "up to 80 percent accuracy." After analyzing the decision-making of 14,000 World of Warcraft players, they noticed that different players prefer different types of achievements. These preferred achievements clump together into statistically significant groups, known as "cliques", even if they have nothing obvious in common. So a WoW player who likes to improve their unarmed combat skills also, for some psychological reason, tends to want points for world travel. What's more, the researchers believe that clique-spotting can be exploited outside the rather specific world of WoW, in which case their method could prove lucrative to game designers, online retailers and pretty much anyone with an interest in predicting your next move. Want to know more? Then we predict you'll click the PR after the break.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/14/s...e-predictable/ ...

The Nintendo Wii sold 236,000 units in May, according to a report released by Wedbush Securities - a 20 per cent decline year-on-year.

The report arrives in the wake of NPD figures confirming that the Xbox 360 has maintained its supremacy in the US market after selling 270,000 consoles.

The PlayStation 3 enjoyed a 14 per cent year-on-year increase, but is still lagging behind its rivals with unit sales of 175,000.

The 3DS also had a difficult month, with hardware sales falling by 50 per cent from its second month total, and "well below" Wedbush Securities' 180,000 unit estimate.

Software sales for the handheld reflected the current downward trend for physical retail with a tie ratio of just 2:1, which the report called "disappointing" and, "surely an all-time low for a new hardware launch."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...percent-in-may ...

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has admitted that "complex technical points" are behind the ongoing delay to legal implementation of PEGI age-ratings for video games in the UK.

"We are working to put the scheme into implementation as soon as possible," a DCMS spokesperson told GamesIndustry.biz, without offering a revised timetable.

Negotiations between the Government – overseen personally by Culture Minister Ed Vaizey – UKIE, the Video Standards Council, and current statutory ratings body the BBFC, are understood to be at a "delicate" stage. But sources familiar with the matter said there was optimism that the system could still be passed into law "by Christmas".

The DCMS added: "There have been a number of complex technical points where detailed work has been needed to reach a solution that works for all sides.

"Clearly, we want to have a scheme that works for industry but it must also work for regulators, for those involved in enforcement and especially for consumers."

As revealed by GI.biz in January, a complicated debate over packaging regulations had thrown a spanner in the works, with the BBFC's role in particular requiring definitive clarification.

The main sticking point remains the issue of "linear" (i.e. trailer) content, which regulations require is rated by the BBFC, though there is growing confidence that resolution is finally in sight.

Once proposals are agreed on all-sides, European ratification will then be required, which is expected to take a further three months.

The delay has been a source of ongoing frustration for the games industry, with the PEGI scheme part of the Digital Economy Act, which passed in April 2010, while calls for a change to the system stretch back to recommendations made in the 2008 Byron Review.

But as one source close to PEGI put it: "There's no sense in forcing the issue at this stage. What matters is making sure we get it absolutely right first time for the industry and consumers."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-law-this-year ...

The Xbox 360 is once again the highest selling console in the US, according to data released by the NPD Group, with the console sold 270,000 units in May - up 39 percent over last year.

The Xbox 360 has occupied the top-spot for 11 of the last 12 months, and enjoyed 17 consecutive months of year-on-year sales growth. Microsoft released an official response predicting that the seventh year of the Xbox 360's life-cycle would be its most successful, "a feat never achieved by any console in history."

Four of the top-ten console games in May were available on Xbox 360 – L.A. Noire, Portal 2, Mortal Kombat, and Brink – with software sales reaching $140 million for the system and total retail spend amounting to $265 million, the highest of any current generation console.

However, while Microsoft's game business is enjoying a period of growth, the NPD data painted a less optimistic picture for the wider industry. Sales of hardware and accessories were both down year-on-year, with physical software sales at their lowest point since October 2006.

Nevertheless, Microsoft is anticipating a "monumental" finish to 2011, "with the biggest blockbuster games, Kinect games and experiences, as well as movies, music and TV together all in one place. This will propel Xbox 360 to be number one worldwide by the end of the year, out-selling PlayStation 3 and Wii."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...one-spot-in-us ...

"Apple on Tuesday started selling an unlocked version of its iPhone 4, starting at $649. A 16GB unlocked iPhone 4 will set you back $649, while a 32GB version is selling for $749. Both are available in black or white; the black will ship within one to three business days, while the white is available in three to five days, according to the Apple Web site. The benefit of an unlocked phone is that you are not locked into a two-year contract with a particular provider. But it also means that you don't get the subsidized pricing provided by someone like AT&T or Verizon. The same phones with a contract cost $199 and $299.

http://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/0...-in-US-For-649 ...

Xbox 720 (the widely-accepted pretend name for the Xbox 360's successor) is being targeted for its debut appearance at E3 2012 and development on its games has already begun, according to a new rumour.

Crytek is among the first to kick off next-gen development, reportedly having begun work on Timesplitters 4 for the Xbox and PlayStation successors.

Microsoft is yet to nail down its hardware specs, but aims to reveal the new machine within the next 12 months, according to Videogamer's 'high-ranking industry source at Crytek'. MS aims to reveal and launch its new console before the PlayStation 4.

According to the report, Crytek is not only developing a new Timeplitters - the first-person shooter series that debuted on PS2 in 2000 - but was showing it behind closed doors at E3 2011 last week. The game apparently uses CryEngine 3 and is based on DirectX 11 technology, the main features of which are multithreaded rendering, compute shaders and tessellation. Mmm, lovely tessellation.

The game is said to feature sanbox-style gameplay elements and levels with multiple paths, offering the gamer a choice of routes to the same ultimate conclusion. Its visuals are claimed to already be noticeably better than current-gen games.

Developer Crytek UK - originally Free Radical before Crytek rescued it from meltdown - officially confirmed to CVG back in 2007 that work on Timesplitters 4 had begun. It even released concept art before its long-time no-show stirred up rumours of its cancellation.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS ...