via Games Industry


The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed have charted in both Spain and Germany according to weekly sales data released by Media-Control GfK International.

For the week ending November 18, the PlayStation 3 version of Creed was number one in Spain and number four in Germany. The PS3 version sold more copies than the Xbox 360 version which came in at number five in both countries.

Super Mario Galaxy was the only Wii title to make the charts, but it earned the number two spot in Germany and number three in Spain.

The standard version of the PC title Crysis topped the German chart, with the collector's edition coming in at number six. The PS2 version of WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2008 remains popular in both countries, as does Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Interestingly enough, the PC and PS3 versions of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare made both charts, but the Xbox 360 version is no longer in the top ten in either country.

The complete lists are as follows:

Germany:
1 Crysis (PC)
2 Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
3 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)
4 Assassin's Creed (PS3)
5 Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360)
6 Crysis Collector's Edition (PC)
7 High School Musical: Sing it (PS2)
8 WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2008 (PS2)
9 Unreal Tournament 3 (PC)
10 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3)

Spain:
1 Assassin's Creed (PS3)
2 WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2008 (PS2)
3 Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
4 Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2)
5 Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360)
6 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3)
7 WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2008 (PSP)
8 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (PS2)
9 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)
10 Mas Brain Training (DS) ...

via Games Industry


Greenpeace has publicly shamed Nintendo and Microsoft for lacking any environmental credentials when it comes to electronic waste.

The latest Greener Electronics Guide sees Nintendo become the first company to score 0/10 for its policies and practices on toxic chemicals and takeback.


Greenpeace ranks companies on two criteria – the clean up of products by eliminating hazardous substances and the takeback and recycling of products once they become obsolete.

With no voluntary takeback of products, no information on banned products, no information on how the company communicates with its supply chain and no policy on use of vinyl plastics, Greenpeace notes that Nintendo scores so badly there is "infinite room for improvement."

Microsoft scored 2.7/10, with points for chemical management and for setting a timeline to phase out PVCs by 2011.

Sony scores much better than its rivals, with 7.3/10, although this covers the whole of the electronics company's products. With no mention of the PlayStation 3, it's noted that Sony produces many products that are free from PVC including the VAIO notebook, Walkman, camcorders and digital cameras.

Other companies featured in the Greener Electronics Guide include Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Dell, Panasonic and Apple. ...

via Games Industry


The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has named Sony's Ken Kutaragi the recipient of the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Kutaragi, considered the "father of the PlayStation," will be honoured for revolutionising the global in-home entertainment market with the creation and success of his game console.

The original PlayStation, launched in 1994, shipped more than 100 million units worldwide. Kutaragi retired from Sony in June 2007 after 30 years of service and currently serves as honourary chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. and senior technology advisor of Sony Corporation.


AIAS' first Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Nintendo's Minoru Arakawa and Howard Lincoln earlier this year.

Kutaragi will be honoured at the Interactive Achievement Awards ceremony on February 7 in Las Vegas in conjunction with the annual D.I.C.E. Summit 2008. ...

via IGN


Another Monday, and another set of three VC titles to add to the list of Wii Shop Channel retro gaming. This week's list includes a few classics - depending on who you ask - that are sure to hit gaming's niche crowd. For NES-lovers, Double Dribble brings what many Nintendo fans considered the first true basketball offering on a home console, while Vegas Stakes was the first step down a slippery slope, letting Super NES owners take a plunge into the world of high stakes gambling. Round that package off with Ecco Jr. for the SEGA Genesis, and you've got a list that, depending on your love for nostalgia, may or may not have you dropping cash this week.

Per usual we've included Nintendo's latest official information on each game, as included in its original press release:


DOUBLE DRIBBLE (NES, 1-2 players, rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): DOUBLE DRIBBLE, the first 5-on-5, full-court home basketball game, is pure hoops action at its finest. While still a surprisingly accurate basketball game for its time, the frantic action keeps you on your toes as your players run from one end of the court to the other. Choose from a handful of teams and multiple levels of difficulty as you take on the computer alone or challenge a friend and see who has the better skills. Take the ball and sink shots from locations all over the court, or get in your opponent's face and do your best to block the shot. Better yet, drive the lane and rock the rim to see one of the game's trademark slam-dunk cut scenes. He shoots, he scores!

Vegas Stakes (Super NES¿, 1-4 players, rated E for Everyone - Simulated Gambling, 800 Wii Points): Feel like taking a road trip to Las Vegas? Let your inner high roller go wild as you try your luck at five different games-blackjack, slots, poker, craps and roulette. Start with only $1,000 in your pocket and play your way through five casinos, each with a different theme and varying limits. But no one wants to gamble alone, right? Not a problem, as you'll be able to choose one of four friends to tag along and offer advice when you need it. Further enhancing the experience is the fact that you'll be presented with a slew of interactions with random casino patrons. Best be careful, though-your choices in these situations could either get you closer to the millions of dollars you're after or cost you a pile of that hard-earned cash. Roll the dice, spin the wheel, hit or stand-do whatever it takes to stake your claim in Vegas and beat the house!

Ecco Jr. (Sega Genesis, 1 player, rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): The aquatic adventures of Ecco come to life for a younger generation of gamers. Perfect for kids, Ecco Jr. finds our young hero heading out to sea with a variety of tasks he must perform in order to get there. Along with his friends Tara the baby orca and Kitnee the young Atlantic dolphin, Ecco Jr. will interact with sea lions, sea horses and other aquatic life as he makes his journey to the Big Blue. Introduce your kids to the classic series of Ecco the Dolphin titles by downloading Ecco Jr. today.

We'll have more on these new titles, including media and final reviews, as the week continues. ...

via IGN


After the Xbox Live fall Dashboard update goes live next month, your friends list will be visible to other users, Microsoft announced today.

The new Friends of Friends feature will automatically be active for most users once the update hits on Dec. 4. Here are the three available settings:

• Everyone (only available to members 18 and older)
• Friends only (available to members 13 and older)
• Blocked (available to all members, and automatic for anyone under the age of 13)

The default setting will be Everyone for gamers 13 or older, but you can log in to the Xbox web site in advance to change your preferences before Dec. 4. Microsoft hasn't announced any additional features planned for the fall update, but Xbox Live's Major Nelson confirmed that more are on the way.

Last week, Microsoft announced its Xbox Originals download program, which will also go live as part of the Dec. 4 update. ...

via IGN


This week the Xbox Live Arcade is getting another injection of classic arcade action. Asteroids and Asteroids Deluxe will be available as a single download this Wednesday.

One of the original fixed-screen shooters, Asteroids arrived in arcades back in 1979 sporting vector graphics and five buttons for controlling your spacecraft. The sequel, Asteroids Deluxe, was released the following year and added shields and new enemies.

Like most arcade games on XBLA, Asteroids' graphics have been "remastered" for the HD era. A new Throttle Monkey mode has been added to both games that cranks up the speed for an enhanced challenge. ...

via IGN


According to a report from Nikkei late last week, Toshiba is planning on switching manufacturing of the PlayStation 3's RSX graphics processor to a 65nm process next month. Currently, the chip is manufacturing using a 90nm process, the same as it's been since the system's launch.

A smaller die size for the chip can mean cheaper production costs and less heat, contributing to lower prices for the consumer, and a quieter, more reliable PS3 system.

The latest versions of the system's Cell CPU are being manufactured using a 65nm process. It is widely believed that the switch to 65nm for the Cell is one of the main reasons Sony was able to drop the PS3's price down to $399 in time for the holidays.

Nikkei also reports that Toshiba is planning on beginning manufacturing at 45nm in the latter half of the next fiscal year, and speculates that the RSX and other PlayStation 3 chips are prime candidates for the new line. ...

via Games Industry


Magenta Games' Buzz! Junior Jungle Party won the Videogame category in last night's Children's Awards organised by BAFTA.

In a ceremony that celebrated the best in children's entertainment across all media, the popular PlayStation 2 mini-game and quiz was honoured alongside such kids brands as Happy Feet (Best Feature category), Charlie and Lola (Writer category) and SpongeBob Squarepants (International category).

The Buzz series was launched in 2005 by Relentless Software, with Magenta Software partnering with the developer on the Junior spin-off titles.

The BAFTA Children's Awards were sponsored by Electronic Arts. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Speculation grew this weekend that PC shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is coming to Xbox 360, after its Ukrainian developer GSC Game World revealed it's become a certified Xbox developer.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. PC publisher THQ gave us a swift "no comment" when we picked up the phone, though we saw that coming a mile off.

The official announcement can be found over on GSC's website, but one sentence from the Russian press release was left out of the English announcement, as spotted by eagle-eyed NeoGAF forum users.

"Our second aim is to increase X360 install base and legal software sales in ex-USSR region. Creation of high quality, interesting, comprehensible for our players titles and acceptable cost of games is the key to this task," says the Russian release, via our mate Google translate.

We can only support the cause of introducing more Russians to Xbox Live, if only to make online games of Call of Duty even more authentic.

As for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 360, apparently GSC is already working on a handful of unannounced console titles, so it'd be a pretty safe assumption that at least one of them will take place near Chernobyl.

We'll let you know when GSC's inevitable Russian press release answering all arrives. ...