Capcom®, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, today confirmed a return for one of its classic franchises with the announcement that Bionic Commando is in development for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Sony Computer Entertainment’s PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) and PC platforms.

Taking its inspiration from its 8-bit namesake released on the Nintendo Entertainment System back in 1988, Bionic Commando features Nathan Spencer (voiced by former lead singer of Faith No More, Mike Patton), a government operative who represents the ultimate fusion of man and machine. After distinguishing himself in a fierce conflict against the Imperials, Spencer is betrayed and falsely imprisoned by the very people he unquestioningly served.

Three years later, on the day he is due to be executed for his supposed crimes, an experimental weapon detonates in Ascension City, unleashing an immensely powerful earthquake coupled with a radiation shockwave that leaves the city in ruins, wiping out its populace. Military intelligence suggests that a large terrorist search force has moved in and occupied Ascension City, but as yet their motives remain unclear. With the terrain in ruins and the terrorists in control of Ascension City’s air defences the FSA has only one option open to them – the reactivation of Nathan Spencer.

Bionic Commando harnesses the power of the latest generation of hardware to fully exploit the swing mechanic that made the original title so unique. The ruins of Ascension City and its surroundings provide an engaging environment of towering buildings, suspended roadways and monorails, deep canyons and sheer rock faces that allow gamers to traverse each area via multiple routes using swinging, rappeling, climbing and wall-walking techniques.

An expertly trained operative, Spencer is able to target and take out enemies while hanging upside down, climbing a building or even in mid-swing. At close quarters, the bionic arm packs a mean punch, while from a distance, objects such as boulders and cars can be grabbed and launched at enemies.

The development team behind Bionic Commando represents a unique and compelling collaboration of cultures and skills, consisting of an American Producer living in Japan, a Japanese Creative Advisor and highly-rated Swedish developer GRIN providing a European influence. This partnership provides a further example of Capcom’s strategy to work with the best developer talent, whilst maintaining the unique elements of creativity and approach to game design for which Capcom is renowned.

The official Bionic Commando website is now live at www.bioniccommando.com

X-OOM MEDIA CENTRE FOR Wii PROMISES ALL ROUND ENTERTAINMENT

NINTENDO Wii NOW A FULLY FLEDGED PERSONAL ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM USING BUILT IN WI-FI TO ACCESS DIGITAL MEDIA FILES ON PC

X-OOM Media Centre for Wii will turn your Nintendo Wii into your own multimedia centre allowing you to watch movies, listen to music and view digital photos by streaming files directly from your PC onto the Wii using Wi-Fi.

X-OOM Software, a leading publisher of digital media software for mobile devices, will be releasing X-OOM Media Centre for Wii in November 2007.

WATCH MOVIES
Rather than watching your favourite movie clips & downloads on PC, simply use X-OOM Media Centre for Wii to direct all your files straight into your living room and watch in comfort at your television using the Nintendo Wii.

LISTEN TO MUSIC
With its clear, accessible structure, the X-OOM Media Centre for Wii is an easy way to view the hundreds of multimedia files stored on your PC, meaning you can access and play your favourite music simply and easily through your TV.

VIEW DIGITAL PHOTOS
Showcase your latest photographs live on TV in your lounge. Use the Wii’s wireless remote control to browse and select your favourite files on PC to show friends & family at Christmas or family gatherings.

Due to the Nintendo Wii’s built-in Wi-Fi connection, there is no need to rely on cumbersome memory cards, CDs or cables in order to transfer data from one system to another. The software allows you to transfer all of your media files at the click of a button, giving you the option to store movies, music and photographs on your PC but access them in your living room.

X-OOM Media Centre for Wii will also provide access to 1000s of Web TV channels and radio stations.

Network connection through WLAN or LAN. Supports MP3, WMA, OGG, DivX, XviD, MPEG 2, MPEG 4, WMV, JPG, BMP.

Music and videogames take the next step in the digital revolution with expansion songs included with a game’s soundtrack CD for the first time. Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock Companion Pack (Interscope Records), to be released on October 23, 2007, features not only the key songs on Activision’s Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock, available October 28, 2007, but also exclusive access to more gameplay with three previously unreleased expansion songs to play with Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock for Xbox 360.

Included in each Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Companion Pack is a unique code users may input at www.interscope.com/guitarherocode to receive a unique Xbox Live code. Users may then input the Xbox Live code into their Xbox 360 console when logged into Xbox Live, to download the expansion songs. Xbox Live codes are expected to be available when Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock launches on October 28.

The three expansion tracks are “Carcinogen Crush” from AFI (from an EP due in December), “Tina” from Flyleaf and a remix of Marilyn Manson’s “Putting Holes In Happiness” by Nick Zinner from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The latter two recordings also are heard on the soundtrack CD, along with AFI’s “Miss Murder,” Sonic Youth’s “Kool Thing,” Queens Of The Stone Age’s “3’s And 7’s,” Smashing Pumpkins’ “Cherub Rock,” Velvet Revolver’s “Slither,” Living Colour’s “Cult Of Personality,” Rise Against’s “Prayer Of The Refugee,” the Guitar Hero rendition of “Devil Went Down To Georgia” by Steve Ouimette and the game’s intro by Slash, who is also a character in the game.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock will include explosive new content and features including a multiplayer action-inspired battle mode, grueling boss battles, a host of exclusive unlockable content and visually stunning rock venues. Expanded online multiplayer game modes will also allow axe-shredders worldwide to compete head-to-head for true legendary rock status. While continuing to retain all the key features from their prior legendary performances, fresh downloadable content will be offered on multiple platforms, and players can now shred to a killer set list from many of the most popular rock songs ever recorded.

For the first time ever, Guitar Hero fans will also be able to thrash and burn with new wireless guitar controllers available for each platform, including exclusive Gibson Guitar’s Les Paul model for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Wii^TM home video game system from Nintendo, and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. PlayStation®2 gamers will also get to shred on a new exclusive shape, Gibson’s Kramer guitar, popularized by hard rockers and known for its body design, pickups, electronics and construction for furious finger fretting.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, published by RedOctane® and developed by Neversoft, is rated ‘T’ for Teen by the ESRB. For more information about the Guitar Hero franchise, please visit the dedicated community site: www.guitarhero.com.

Six-time World Snooker Champion, Steve Davis features in a video just posted to YouTube, conceived during the making of the advert for forthcoming World Snooker Championship™ Season 2007-08 game, which releases on Nintendo® DS on 26th October 2007.

The game’s ad campaign plays homage to Nintendo’s brilliant Brain Training™ TV commercials staring Nicole Kidman, and features the notoriously deadpan Davis relaxing on the sofa over a frame or two of World Championship Snooker.

[youtube yIGBle4bGrI Click here to go to Youtube]

Davis also appears in the game, along with all of the other well known players currently contesting the World Snooker Championship season. The game also features Davis’ fellow snooker national treasure John Virgo on commentary duties, as the lifelike game soundtrack brings the sport to life.

Snooker has always been a popular sporting genre for video games, but has historically been restricted by how the player controls each shot. Home console joypads and computer mice have never quite achieved the level of interaction and accuracy promised by Nintendo’s immensely popular DS handheld format with its dual touch screen and stylus.

Game Features:

· Choose one of best professional Snooker players, each with his own unique abilities based on real personal abilities

· Unlockable professional players to challenge even the most skilled snooker fan

· 9 official licensed Championship Events of a Snooker season, for example the Welsh Open, Grand Prix, UK Championship, Masters, China Open, World Championship and all the others

· A unique atmosphere through the novel commentary system ‘Shot Watching’ hosted by John Virgo

· Change between two distinct modes ‘Challenge’ and ‘Championship’ for mini games or a complete Snooker season

· The duel screen format of DS, it can display both the full 3D view of the action on one screen and a top down perspective on the other screen

Fun Eye Exercises Challenge Hand-Eye Coordination, Peripheral Vision

The new Flash Focus™: Vision Training in Minutes a Day is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Just as Nintendo’s brain-training games gave your gray matter a workout, Flash Focus aims to train users’ eyes in areas like hand-eye coordination, peripheral vision and visual acuity. It launches today, exclusively for Nintendo DS™.

It might sound like a strange concept, but top athletes have long used high-tech computerized visual training programs to give them an edge on the baseball diamond, basketball court and football field. Now Nintendo makes this remarkable technology available to anyone who wants to have fun while tracking improvements in the various visual exercises. It’s a great tool for moms who like to keep a “peripheral vision” watch on their kids or for people who want an edge spotting holiday sales.

“Flash Focus represents another one of our software titles that delivers fun with a purpose,” says George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. “Flash Focus should be in the training arsenal of every coach in the country, but it’s also ideal for casual game players of any age who want to keep their vision sharp.”

The first time users pop in Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day, they take a series of tests to determine their DS Eye Age. As users spend a few minutes each day with the activities, they get better and better at the exercises and their Eye Age lowers to demonstrate their improved focus abilities.

Some of the many fun activities in Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day include:

• A variation of the hidden ball “hat dance” seen at baseball parks: A circle is placed in one of three boxes, and the user must follow the location of the circle as the boxes shuffle rapidly on the screen.
• Watching two symbols flash on the screen, then tapping the touch screen to indicate whether they matched.
• Memorizing a target letter and counting how many times it appears in a fast-moving stream of letters on the screen.

The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™, Nintendo DS™, Game Boy® Advance and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.4 billion video games and more than 420 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario™, Donkey Kong®, Metroid®, Zelda™ and Pokémon®. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company’s Web site at www.nintendo.com.

SEGA® of Europe Ltd. today announced that NiGHTS™: Journey of Dreams for the Wii™ video game console will ship January 2008, in Europe. The title, a sequel to the critically-acclaimed hit NiGHTS, will allow players to take flight, unleash incredible airborne maneuvers, and explore seven magnificent worlds of imagination, dreams and nightmares. SEGA also unveiled plans to reawaken the Artificial Life (A-Life) feature in NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, which gives gamers the freedom to oversee and develop their own sandbox environment enabling them to capture, raise, and even combine the inhabitants from the world of Nightopia, and has confirmed that the game will feature a two-player mode and network support at launch.

Unlike any other game available today, NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams will deliver the feeling of flight through the innovative Wii Remote™. Players will glide, spiral and loop through a variety of mystical dream worlds packed with action and adventure as they dive and blast through rings, gather orbs and come up against fantastic and unforgettable boss battles. Anchored by a storyline about courage, hope and inspiration, NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams is an ideal game for the entire family.

“Finally developing a sequel for NiGHTS is a dream come true – for myself and, I hope, also for fans of the original game as well as people new to the game!” commented Takeshi Iizuka of SEGA Studio USA “NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams will be a unique game making good use of the great features Wii has to offer”.

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams unfolds in Nightopia, the spectacular dream world of two young characters, Helen and Will. Struggling to overcome the every day challenges of growing up, these two 12-year-olds find their real life experiences spilling over into their dreams. As Helen and Will fall into a deep sleep, they are greeted by NiGHTS, a fantasy jester, who leads them to explore the rich and vibrant land of Nightopia. Along the way, NiGHTS helps the youngsters bravely face their fears by finding inventive ways to confront, outpace, and outwit foes - such as the villainous Nightmarens. Through the freedom of flight, execution of stunning acrobatic moves and tapping into special abilities that enable gamers to combat danger and restore peace to Nightopia.