nintendo

While Nintendo boasts that its Wii can make you fit, the game company's popular line of DS "Brain Games" have for some time promised to make kids smarter by challenging them with word puzzles and math formulas. However, a French professor isn't ... buying the shtick. University of Rennes professor Alain Lieury, a cognitive psychology specialist in Brittany, France, recently studied a group of ten year old children playing a variety of mentally-challenging games. Not all were video games, however; Lieury pit more traditional games (including sudoku, Scrabble, and regular old reading and homework) ... (view more)

The good news for Nintendo just keeps on coming. Earlier this year, we reported that the company's Wii console fueled record sales for the video game industry; today, another impressive stat: the Wii has sold one million units in Canada, a country ... whose total population was last marked at just over 33 million. Despite being late out of the gate (a couple weeks after Sony's PlayStation 3 in November, 2006 and a year behind Microsoft's Xbox 360), the Wii has completely hammered the sales of its two primary competitors. Actual figures for Nintendo's console north of the border sit around 1,060, ... (view more)

Across the web, the hype surrounding the Nintendo Wii is reaching a fever pitch. To be sure, the console has been popular from the get-go in November, 2006, but with the introduction of 'Wii Fit' -- a game that recently made CNET refer to the Wii as ... the only 'ethical' purchase -- fanfare is off the charts. According to reports, Wii Fit -- which promises all the exercise of a workout without -- gasp! -- stepping outdoors, has sold out across the United States within one week of becoming available to the wider public. Like the console for which it was made, the game is becoming very hard to ... (view more)

Environmental campaigners have said the three leading video games consoles all contain dangerous chemicals. According to Greenpeace, the Sony PlayStation, Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360 each contain substances which could affect human memory ... and reproductive development. The tests found the presence of phthalates, beryllium and bromine, all of which have been linked to health concerns. The phthalates are used in games consoles to soften cable coatings and wiring. Because of safety worries, the substance is banned in toys in Europe, with California planning a similar ban next year. ... (view more)

Nintendo has been credited in the last year for making video game players more active by playing their Wii console. The results have been impressive, at least, compared to the traditional play mechanics of the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. However, ... Nintendo's latest product is a genuine fat-buster. Wii Fit is a gym 'simulator' game though the exercise is entirely genuine. Players use a special balance board which tracks the movement and weight, then converts it into a movements for an onscreen character. The game includes more than 40 activities based around strength training, aerobics, balance ... (view more)

Not sure why the Nintendo Wii is Super Smashing its competition from Microsoft and Sony these days? In a recent interview with online game magazine Gamespot, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata attributed all that success -- in the good 'ol US of A, at ... least -- to an American penchant for the house party. Last year, Nintendo sold a staggering six million units of its popular Wii console. Released in November of 2006, the tiny white machine has surpassed just about everyone's expectations; with simple, 'fun' games based on motion-sensitive technology, the console has appealed to 'casual' gamers ... (view more)

Part of the appeal behind Nintendo's stylish little Wii this holiday season comes from the nature of its gameplay. Boasting motion-sensitivity, it challenges gamers to swing and swipe their way to victory in Wii Sports tennis or boxing. With kids ... and parents alike getting off the couch, Nintendo has advertised the console as great exercise and a healthy alternative to those lazy systems from Microsoft and Nintendo. But, is it true? According to a study by researchers at Liverpool John Moores University in England, not so much. The study examined boys and girls aged thirteen to fifteen, ... (view more)

Scared off video game consoles because of their price? Many casual fans are, and until Microsoft and Sony can knock some buckaroos off the bottom line, many critics believe the industry will only play a tertiary media role. But, is that about to ... change? According to Activision executive Bobby Kotick, it just might. Kotick, a key player for one of the video game industry's most prominent and long-standing publishers, recently stated that he expects consoles to sell for under $200 before Christmas, 2009. (Source: gameinformer.com ) Why? To bring in the mass-market. Hey, it's worked for Nintendo ... (view more)

Last year there were few hotter items than the world's newest video game consoles, the Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. Both launched in November, both were highly anticipated, and both instigated massive line-ups that inevitably led to some ... profane language and marked frustration. This year, the dynamics of the console war have certainly changed. It may surprise our readers to hear that many gaming critics are now predicting a big season for Sony. For the last year, the PlayStation 3 has been stuck in a distant third position behind Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii, despite real ... (view more)

A few weeks ago, I reported that Nintendo expected its Wii to, even a year after release, again sell out at Christmas time. Those that do get their hands on the sleek little console shouldn't expect to pay any less, either. The Japanese gaming ... company plans no price cuts by the time Santa makes his annual visit. With its competition at Microsoft and Sony announcing fairly sizeable price chops, it's a bit surprising Nintendo hasn't even entertained the idea. In an interview with Reuters, Nintendo senior marketing VP George Harrison said, "We'll stay at $249 for the foreseeable future. We are ... (view more)