Via Joystiq

Pro-G has some new details on the handheld versions of LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. DS owners will have bragging rights with wireless 2-player co-op mode and 4-player versus mode, as well as customized touch screen controls.

PSP gamers also have the co-op mode, in addition to a timed challenge mode that features unlockable characters from the first game. Unlockables are cool, but this is sure to introduce some continuity problems in the storyline. Then again, keeping track of all the Star Wars timelines ain't like dusting crops, boy! There, I said it.

All eight versions of LEGO Star Wars II are scheduled for a September 12 release date. ...

Via Gamespot

Mobile entertainment publisher Player X has announced that it has bought the licence from Hornby to develop Scalextric for mobile phones. The top-down racing game features a track editor and five different car models. There will be six tracks to race on, and a choice of Championship, Quick Race and Ghost Race modes. Players will be able to race against friends, upgrade cars and save their best times.

"We've been publishing mobile games from the very beginning and I've never seen a game that is more perfect for a mobile phone. The best mobile games have one-button gameplay and that's exactly how you play Scalextric," said Tony Pearce, Player X CEO. ...

Via Eurogamer

Nintendo has announced that more than 3 million copies of DS title Animal Crossing: Wild World have been shipped around the globe.

It's proved so popular, in fact, that a big screen adaptation is now on the way. Japanese director Jouji Shimura will take the helm for the animated movie, which is set to hit cinemas over there in December.

There's no word on a European release date yet, but we'll keep you posted. ...

Via Eurogamer

Following confirmation that an EyeToy-style peripheral is currently in development for the Xbox 360, Microsoft has announced that GestureTek will be providing the technology behind the Xbox Live Vision camera.

Like Sony's EyeToy, the camera will let you control the action on screen using physical gestures. Examples of games which might use the technology, as suggested by GestureTek, include poker titles, snowboarding and volleyball games, music games which feature virtual instruments, and titles where the you'll have to physically dodge bullets or martial arts attacks.

"Gesture recognition and control is a logical evolution in gaming," said GestureTek CEO Bill Leconby.

"Our technology has been thrilling and entertaining users in public and private installations around the world since well before the movie Minority Report popularised the concept of gesture control. This offering opens doors to unlimited applications in the gaming experience."

"The fusion of GestureTek technology and the Xbox 360 will enhance the entertainment and gaming experience for our customers," said Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg.

"As the Xbox 360 camera offering enables a more immersive and integrated gaming experience, gesture control will further redefine entertainment."

Microsoft is arguably playing catch-up here - Sony's EyeToy first hit the shelves in July 2003. Since then, more than 5.3 million first-party EyeToy titles have been sold. ...

Via Eurogamer:

Microsoft could have had Grand Theft Auto III on Xbox first if a third-party publishing initiative called "The Star Chamber" hadn't turned down a Rockstar proposal, author Dean Takahashi claims in his new book, The Xbox 360 Uncloaked.

In an extract published on 1UP, Takahashi reports that under J Allard's direction, The Star Chamber - a group of game managers organised to evaluate game proposals sent to Microsoft - turned down a GTA III proposal, returning it with suggestions to "beef up" the game.

Rockstar went on to create the game exclusively for PlayStation 2, and it didn't appear on Xbox until much later - by which time the GTA brand was firmly associated with PS2. Further instalments launched first on the Sony format.

Takahashi said: "It wasn't Microsoft's kind of game, since it was a gritty crime game with foul language, abusive treatment of women, and cop killing. Microsoft had a corporate image to maintain and, like Electronic Arts, it avoided that category."

That's all in the past though - and Microsoft believes that the fact it'll have Grand Theft Auto IV on Xbox 360 on the same day it launches on PlayStation 3 could be a significant factor in the next-gen console war - as Peter Moore said on this site last week.

"When we do our research and ask PS2 owners why they're going to buy a PS3, they say it's because it's the only place they'll get Grand Theft Auto," he told us.

"So when you talk about neutralising that, that's very important to us. Then we say to gamers - and this flooded my inbox during the night - the only place you can play Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV is on an Xbox 360, and they've seen Gears of War and it blows the doors down for them."

Microsoft has yet to say anything about Takahashi's comments on GTA III and Xbox. ...

Via CVG

Ah, if only real surgery was this easy, Wayne Rooney would be back to fighting fitness in no time.

Anyway, we're talking about Trauma Center in case you were wondering. Previously limited to stylus activity on DS, the surgery sim has now been officially unveiled for Nintendo Wii in Trauma Center: Second Opinion. Details on the Wii version are scarce at the moment, but a quick look at the screenshots that have been released - view them on this here page - suggests much of the same wound-sewing, medicine-mixing action from the DS game is set to return.

We'll have more Wii Trauma Center details soon, all being well. Or should that be unwell...?

Screenshots Via Comments ...

Via CVG

Tecmo's wacky action-puzzler Tokobot didn't make a massive splash when it was released for Sony's PSP, but Tecmo is no doubt hoping to make more ripples when the series rumbles onto PS2 later this year in Tokobot Plus: Mysteries of the Karakuri.

In case you didn't know, Tokobot has you exploring a series of environments with an army of robots at your side. Using simple commands you can make your Tokobots line-up and perform different tasks, like building bridges and ladders. A bit like Pikmin with batteries then.

Tokobot Plus is set to feature "significant upgrades" and "new elements", it says here, in addition to graphical tweaks from the PSP version of the game. Apparently, we can also expect to see 10 new stages, 30 different enemy types and a time attack mode in the series' home console debut.

Tokobot Plus: Mysteries of the Karakuri is due out in Q3 2006. We'll let you know how it turns out. ...

Via CVG

Mythic Entertainment's latest MMORPG, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, may - may - be smashing its way onto Microsoft's Xbox 360 as well as PC.

According to a report on GameSpot, at last week's E3 where Mythic was showcasing its PC MMO game, one of the Warhammer Online adventurers whom attendees were playing alongside was actually hidden away in the developer's booth controlling their character with a wireless Xbox 360 controller - the report going on to add that the website got to see PC and Xbox 360 versions of Warhammer Online running side-by-side at the event.

However... Apparently, Mythic's getting Age of Reckoning onto Xbox 360 is a proving-it-can-be-done exercise only, the developer not confirming it's in the pipeline for release - at this stage anyway. And the only other real slice of info on the game on 360 that the developer's let slip is that getting the title up and running on the console has actually led to improvements for the announced PC version.

So then, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning on Xbox 360, and cross-platform MMORPG action looms? Well, it certainly all seems possible, but we can only wait to see if we get an official announcement somewhere down the line. ...

VIa Gamesindustry

US assemblyman Leyland Yee's controversial California games bill could fail under legal challenge from the ESA, as the judge issues a "strict scrutiny" ruling before considering his final judgment.

According to a report on the Bay City News website, Judge Ronald Whyte told attorneys for both parties that the proposed legislation had to be considered under a legal standard known as "strict scrutiny," which grants the broadest protection of free speech rights and could well result in another legal victory for the interactive entertainment industry.

Katherine Fallow, an atttorney for the videogames industry commented: "When strict scrutiny is applied, a law is rarely if ever upheld."

The California bill - which is publicly backed by Governer Arnold Schwarzenegger - was initially slapped with a temporary injunction that prevented its implementation into law at the start of the year. The industry trade bodies the ESA and IEMA instigated the legal challenge on grounds of constitutionality, having already established a precedent with similar failed bills in Michigan, Illinois and numerous other US states.

Whilst the final ruling on the California bill has yet to be made, the application of strict scrutiny is a damning move for the state, and is likely to throw the case in favour of the industry - which has been championing the success of its existing self-regulatory videgomaes rating system, the ESRB - once again. A final ruling on the case is expected to be announced by Judge Whyte in the near future. ...