via Games Industry


Wii Fit has retaken the top of the UK software sales chart for its tenth week, equalling Nintendo's previously most successful title Pokémon Yellow, according to Chart Track.

Resident Evil 5 dropped to second place as sales slid by 38 per cent, while FIFA 09 climbed three placed to take number three and Ubisoft's Wheelman shot up the chart from eleventh to fourth place.

Call of Duty: World at War climbed two places to come in at number five, while Street Figher IV sales dipped 11 per cent as the title fell from third to sixth place. Professor Layton and the Curious Village also dropped three places to number seven.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare jumped one place to eighth, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games re-entered the top ten by climbing from 16 to nine and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars closed at number ten.

Full UK software chart follows:

01. Wii Fit
02. Resident Evil 5
03. FIFA 09
04. Wheelman
05. Call of Duty: World at War
06. Street Fighter IV
07. Professor Layton and the Curious Village
08. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
09. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
10. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
11. Carnival: Funfair Games
12. Mario Kart Wii
13. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training
14. Wii Play
15. Wanted: Weapons of Fate
16. Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.
17. Grand Theft Auto IV
18. Ben 10: Alien Force
19. My Fitness Coach
20. Guitar Hero: Wold Tour ...

Xbox 360 gamers have unlocked a grand total of two and a half billion Achievements, according to Xbox boss Aaron Greenberg, earning 52 billion Gamerscore in the process.

http://www.oxm.co.uk/article.php?id=9356 ...

New for Xbox360 XNA:


http://www.gameprojects.com/project/?id=187c5f90a6 ...

News/release from qwikrazor87


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Following up on last week's early leak, Namco Bandai gathered the press in Tokyo today to formally unveil its lineup of Tales series games for the year 2009. As previously detailed, PS3, PSP and Wii are getting games in the series, to be joined by the latest Tales series anime adaptation.

The Wii game is the "mothership" game that was first announced last year. Now known as Tales of Graces, the game is an RPG in the classic Tales series style, featuring another take on the Linear Motion Battle system.

As detailed last week, players take control of 18-year-old Asbel Lhant. Namco Bandai still hasn't shared specifics on the story, but did clarify today that the game takes place in a world split into three kingdoms whose civilizations were built around some sort of material known as Eris.

The game's battle system is known as the "Style Shift Linera Motion Battle" system. The "Style Shift" part of the name comes from the fact that you can switch your characters between multiple stances during the fight. Combat also allows players to pivot around their targeted opponent like in a fighting game.

One note for those expecting some wacky Wiimote motion controls. The game will apparently be playable both with the Wiimote/nunchuck combo or with just the Classic Controller Pro. It's unclear if the Pro is required or if the standard Classic controller will work just as well.

Before Wii gets its second Tales game through Graces, PS3 get will get its first one through an updated port of Tales of Vesperia. As detailed last week, this update adds a new character, the pirate girl Patty Fleur.

Patty is voiced in the Japanese version by Chiwa Saito. The area of voice looks like a major point for the PS3 version, which apparently features twice as much voice as its Xbox 360 counterpart! Hopefully that doesn't mean the PS3 version's English release will arrive too far beyond the Japanese version!

The PS3 version also promises a number of other updates, including new scenarios and events. It will also have some form of tie-up with the Tales of Vesperia animated movie that was also announced next week.

Namco Bandai shared final details on that movie today. Fully titled "Tales of Vesperia The First Strike," the movie follows main character Yuri during his time as a member of the Imperial Knights prior to the start of the game. Outside of Yuri, a number of other characters will appear in the movie.

Production I.G. is producing the anime, with Kanta Kamei directing and Reiko Yoshida providing a script. A Japanese theatrical release is set for some time this year.

Back to the game side of things, Namco Bandai also shared solid details today on Tales of VS. As we detailed last week, this four player PSP fighter puts characters from past Tales games together on the battle field for a crossover fight. The game's combat system is based around the series' Linear Motion Battle System with 2D plane-based combat. Ground height and walls also apparently have an effect on battle.

VS looks like it's going to have a lot of depth for a fighter. In addition to 35 characters taken from 13 Tales games, the game features a fully voiced story mode that places the characters in four kingdoms. Production I.G. will be providing a new animated intro for the game.

The 2009 Tales fun kicks off in Japan with Tales of VS this summer, followed by Vesperia PS3 in the Fall, and Graces in the Winter.

http://uk.psp.ign.com/articles/969/969973p1.html ...

News/release from Chainsawkitten



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When you hear a catchy tune, you probably find yourself tapping your fingers in rhythm to the beat. If you can do that, you'll be a natural for Rhythm Heaven, a new game that is now available for the portable Nintendo DS system. Rhythm Heaven asks you to tap, hold and flick your stylus on the touch screen as you keep the beat in more than 50 rhythm-based mini-games. It's hard not to crack a smile as you enjoy the game's unique visual style and infectious game play.

"Rhythm Heaven represents another example of how Nintendo creates new experiences that surprise and delight people," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "The game exudes a simple charm and captures an endearing quality that makes it very appealing to all types of players."

The fun look and feel of Rhythm Heaven make it unlike any other music-themed title on the market. The game stakes out its own distinctive territory in the genre by combining rhythmic sounds with entertaining hand-held challenges. For instance, the Glee Club mini-game features a chorus of three characters. You are in control of one of them and must tap the touch screen at the right time to keep the group singing properly. Sing at the wrong time and you make the other members of your group noticeably sad.

You control Rhythm Heaven entirely with the stylus, though in different ways: One mini-game asks you to flick the stylus across the touch screen on the beat to shoot a bolt through a nut, while another requires you to tap the screen at just the right moment to make monkeys dance to music. The different taps and flicks make everything happen. As the action builds and the songs get faster, the difficulty level ramps up to give you additional challenges.

With its emphasis on keeping the beat, Rhythm Heaven provides a fun, hands-on experience that players can enjoy on the go. You can pick it up and play for just a few minutes or keep coming back to it again and again. Rhythm Heaven represents another of Nintendo's games that has appeal to a wide spectrum of players. People new to video games will be able to pick it up and understand what to do instantly, but veterans will enjoy the incredible variety of challenges on their quest to unlock and master every aspect of the game.

Be sure to watch for the new Rhythm Heaven commercials starring Pop superstar Beyoncé. The first of Beyoncé's two commercials for Nintendo is currently running on a variety of networks, including Adult Swim, Comedy Central, FX, MTV and VH1, and can be seen on www.RhythmHeaven.com.

Remember that Rhythm Heaven, as with nearly the entire library of 850+ Nintendo DS-compatible games, also can play on the new Nintendo DSi system, which launched in the United States on April 5.

For more information about Rhythm Heaven, visit www.RhythmHeaven.com. ...

ED has updated the Pandora blog with this news:

Well, this surely isn't anything special, but as you want to see all steps that happen during production, here is another thing finished. It's the wrap for the battery



The batteries will go into production this week, another step taken.

http://www.openpandora.org/blog.php ...

ED has updated the Pandora blog with this news:

Well, this surely isn't anything special, but as you want to see all steps that happen during production, here is another thing finished. It's the wrap for the battery



The batteries will go into production this week, another step taken.

http://www.openpandora.org/blog.php ...