Having the Wii Opera browser in time for Christmas would be really great, but so far the only ones claiming such a thing are Gamesoul. They say that Nintendo's Sweden website announced the Wii Opera browser (Channel) will be available for download on the Wii Shop Channel as soon as December 23, but a brief inspection of said website revealed no such thing (then again, Swedish isn't really my strong point, so I may have been looking in the wrong place altogether).

According to the same report, the Forecast Channel is going to be activated on December 20, and the News Channel on January 27. However, it's not yet clear if these dates are valid worldwide, or just in Europe. Several North American Nintendo reps supposedly denied this rumour, saying that Wii Opera will only be activated next year in North America. We certainly hope they're wrong, but given all the doubtfulness surrounding this story, it would be best to take the "December 23" date with a grain of salt.

The only certainty right now is that Wii users will be able to download the Opera browser free of charge at first, until June 2007, as announced back in September.

In other Wii related news, Nintendo today revealed the overall sales figures for their European launch, claiming to have sold 325,000 units in the first two days. "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess proved to be a favourite for avid gamers, with 240,000 copies snapped up over launch weekend in Europe, representing 74% of all hardware purchasers. Wii Play was also a big hit, with over 50% of people buying the game (which includes a Wii Remote) along with their Wii console."

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Wii Is UK's Fastest Selling Console, 100,000+ Units Already Sold

Initial launch figures for the Nintendo Wii in Europe only indicated that some 50,000 units had been sold in the first 12 hours, on December 8. Predictably, the Wii continued to sell well during the weekend (since there weren't enough to begin with), and now GamesIndustry.biz reports that the Wii has become the fastest selling home console ever in the UK. According to data supplied by Nintendo and Chart Track, around 105,000 units were sold during the opening weekend - compared to just 70,000 Xbox 360 units shifted during last year's launch weekend.

The games also did pretty well, with six Wii titles already infiltrating the all-formats top 40. Debuting at number #5 last week was, of course, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, topped by Call of Duty 3, Pro Evolution Soccer 6, and EA's unstoppable duo - NFS Carbon and FIFA 07. Add to that another 14 DS titles in the top 40, and you get a nice 50% presence for Nintendo - who also sold around 110,000 DS units in the UK last week!

We don't have the exact sales figures for Zelda, but considering that two thirds of Wii owners bought a copy in the first day, and assuming that the trend continued during the weeked, Nintendo UK probably sold about 70,000 Zelda games so far.

Another notable new entry in the top 10 was the Wii Play bundle (Wii remote plus a collection of minigames), at number #9. Ubisoft also managed to squeeze two Wii games in the top 40: Red Steel (debuting at #19) and Rayman Raving Rabbids (ranked at #30 for multiple platforms).

So far so good then. Just keep them Wiis flowing, Nintendo!

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Dragon Quest IX Announced, Surprisingly For Nintendo DS

Just as we expected, Square Enix had an important announcement to make today, about a new Dragon Quest game. But much to the vast majority's surprise, it wasn't about a full-blown next-gen sequel, and it wasn't about a quirky spin-off either: it was, however, a little bit of both. The title they announced is Dragon Quest IX: Protectors of the Starry Sky (Hoshizora Kiseki no Mamoribito), and instead of making it for the PlayStation 3 or at least PS2, Square Enix announced it as a Nintendo DS exclusive. (queue shocking 8-bit music)

The most popular series of all time in Japan is therefore dodging Sony's platforms once again, and returning to its ancient Nintendo roots. Although Dragon Quest IX didn't turn out to be a Wii title (as some had been expecting), it's even more surprising that Square Enix chose the DS, effectively taking a technological step backwards with their next oficially numbered Dragon Quest sequel - thus assumingly leaving only spin-off titles for the next-gen formats, PS3 and Wii.

The game sown at the company's press conference was already in a playable state, and is due out in Japan next year. You can see a couple of screenshots in our newly opened gallery, and a Dragon Quest IX page was also added to the Level-5 website. Indeed, they're the ones making it, after having worked on Dragon Quest VIII, Rogue Galaxy and Dark Cloud, among other PS2 games (and currently working on White Knight Story for the PS3 as well).

From what was announced so far, Dragon Quest IX appears to feature impressive 3D graphics for the Nintendo DS, as well as more action oriented combat (compared to the traditionally turn-based battles). The game will feature a four-player co-op option, although compatibility with Nintendo DS Wi-Fi play is still to be confirmed. Once again, composer Koichi Sugiyama will be providing the soundtrack.

To make things even worse for Sony enthusiasts (and for Sony themselves), Square Enix also announced a new card-based Dragon Quest spin-off for the Arcades, called Dragon Quest Monsters: Battle Road. So it might be a very long time before any other game in the series is announced - and even then, it could very well be for one of Nintendo's platforms.

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You can literally count all the upcoming Xbox 360 MMO games on the fingers of one hand (or foot, if you prefer), and adding one more today doesn't really change the fact that the Xbox 360 and the massively-multiplayer online genre don't go together well. But nevertheless, developer and publisher Funcom is very happy to announce that their Age of Conan MMORPG has been approved for Microsoft's Xbox 360, and they will begin production of the console version on the double.

"The announcement means that the highly anticipated Massively Multiplayer Online game (MMO) has received the green light from Microsoft, and that Funcom can start official development of an Xbox 360 version of the game.

"This is a groundbreaking leap forward for Funcom. The fact that we now get the chance to develop 'Age of Conan' for the Xbox 360 means access to a potentially whole new and large MMO market", said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. "The fast-paced and innovative combat system in 'Age of Conan' will suit the demanding console audience perfect. We believe the amazing online capabilities of Xbox 360 will be a great match for MMOs like 'Age of Conan', and as one of a handful officially approved MMO games for the console we aim to create a unique, brutal and powerful online gaming experience."

Information about publisher, release date and potential console specific features will be revealed on another occasion, as Funcom starts production of the Xbox 360 version of Age of Conan. In the meantime, they would very much like us to keep in mind that "the Windows version of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is a Showcase title for Windows Vista, and the game won "Best MMO of E3" awards from IGN, GameSpot, GameSpy and Yahoo. The game was a runner-up to the "Most Innovative Game of Show" E3 award from Gamespot, and PC Gamer US named it as one of their top 10 most anticipated PC games".

I'll keep that in mind while waiting for my Burning Crusade pre-order.

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In a world maddened by patents, this was bound to happen. Just as Sony and Microsoft had their fair share of lawsuits with Immersion for using patented rumble technology in their controllers, it is now Nintendo's turn to face the legal battle that arose after a certain company called Interlink Electronics decided to challenge the originality of the "Wiimote". They claim that Nintendo has infringed one of its patents with the Wii remote, by mimicking the frontal trigger placed on the underside of the controller. That's right, they're not even picking on the motion-sensing technology, but on a lousy trigger! How desperate and opportunistic can you be?

Among the first to discover Interlink's request for a trial by jury was Kotaku, who also have the PDF document with the demand. Included is Interlink's patent no. 6,850,221 for a "trigger operated electronic device", complete with figures of what the supposed device would look like.

Sure, it may look vaguely similar to the Wii remote, but you need to have a certain amount of imagination to say that the Wiimote is a rip-off of Interlink's device, and not of every other remote-like controlling device on this planet (with a button in the front, no less). Yes, Interlink's device also has an index finger-operated trigger on the underside of its body, but come on! Don't tell me it's never been done prior to February 2005, when the patent was registered.

What's next, Nintendo getting sued over integrating a speaker in the Wii remote? There's gotta be a pattent for that, too. Now who's the lucky owner?

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I thought the day would never come! Not that I was holding my breath for anything else related to Interplay, but the company's latest SEC filing (Security and Exchange Commission) did bring some interesting information to public light, regarding their Fallout MMO project. You might remember this one from back in 2004, but there hasn't been much talk on this topic, ever since Interplay sold the rights for Fallout 3 (and other offline sequels) to Bethesda, while retaining the rights for a Fallout MMORPG.

Well, thanks to the bureaucratic worms from Gamasutra, we now have new info on what Interplay has in store for us Fallout fans. According to their latest filing, they are planning to sell some of the company's common stock in order to raise money for the production of a massively-multiplayer online game based on the Fallout role-playing franchise. The total development budget they hope to secure for the Fallout MMO is a staggering $75 million, and they hope to start production (with an undisclosed development studio) as soon as January 2007! However, don't expect to play this before the summer of 2010, because this is what the document in question predicts:

Fallout MMO project

Preproduction Budget - $5,000,000.00

Production Budget - $40,000,000.00

Launch Budget - $30,000,000.00

Production Start - January 2007

Launch Date - July 2010

Investment offer:

- This Prospectus proposes sale of Interplay Entertainment Corp common stock which will be admitted to trade on one of the Euronext exchanges. Proceeds will be used for the production of a Massively Multiplayer On Line Game based on Interplay's Intellectual Property: Fallout (the "Fallout MMOG")

- The Fallout MMOG will be developed in the highly recognized Fallout post Nuclear Apocalyptic world giving consumers an ongoing virtual experience of today's life as if the cold war, which lasted for the best part of the second half of last century, had led to a nuclear disaster

- The budget for the Fallout MMOG totals $75,000,000 and will be funded by Interplay, its development and distribution partners.

Business model:

- The Fallout MMOG is a subscription based on line game.

(...)

- Return on investment is expected within the first 3 years

Other assumptions made by Interplay include reaching 1 million subscribers during the first year, the game becoming profitable in the second year, with a $160 million revenue per year from there on, and a net income of over $50 million per year (starting with the third year). But the most amusing part of their report is their choise of words for describing the current competition in the field of MMO gaming: "There are few public competitors", they tell their potential investors, while listing a dozen MMO games from NCsoft, Webzen, Shanda and Vivendi / Blizzard. Dream on...

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Blue Dragon Boosts Xbox 360 Sales In Japan, Reviews Are In

The "boost" we're referring to is, of course, relative, because Microsoft's next-gen console is still far from becoming a widespread gaming device in Japan. However, looking at the initial sales figures for the recently launched Blue Dragon role-playing game, one could even say that December 7 was the true Xbox 360 launch day in Japan. In just the first day of its release, Mistwalker's debut RPG sold about 70,000 copies (according to the Japanese website Xbox News), reportedly making it the best selling Xbox 360 game in Japan last week. Out of those 70K games, some 43,000 were individual games, and 27,000 were bundled with a new Xbox 360 console - this being pretty much the "boost" we were talking about.

Prior to its Japanese launch, Blue Dragon was Famitsu's second most wanted game (after Final Fantasy XIII, naturally), and the famed magazine's review awarded the game an impressive 37/40 score. Also, one of the first English-language reviews of Blue Dragon was published today on CVG, giving it a 9.0 score and concluding that "the game reeks of class" - although admitting this might not be enough to save the Xbox 360 in Japan. Here's a bit more from the article:

"Blue Dragon finds the perfect balance between linearity and excessive freedom - it doesn't embarrass you by holding your hand, and yet it doesn't just leave you alone crying in the supermarket. Hironobu Sakaguchi (the FF creator and Blue Dragon mastermind) is as good a parent as Shigeru Miyamoto.

(...) The great thing is, Blue Dragon has the looks and it has the gameplay. The battle system is a work of twenty years' fine-tuning, assuming that Sakaguchi still remembers what he got up to in the '80s. There are skills to learn, accessories to acquire (and these affect the attacks at your disposal), and levels to be upped."

Microsoft is fully aware of their low profile in Japan, and therefore their goal is to sell just 200,000 copies of Blue Dragon. Giving the 70,000 head start, I'd say they're well on their way to achieve this tangible goal. Now how about bringing it to the West already, eh?

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With just one Dragon Quest game left on the horizon (Yangus is still not set for release in the West), it should be high time for Square Enix to reveal what the next chapter in their long running role-playing series will be. That is, other than Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors for the Wii, which is currently set for release during 2007. An official announcement may be coming as soon as tomorrow, if reports about various Japanese newspapers are to trusted.

One such report comes from 1UP, who are still wondering whether the next Dragon Quest will be part of the main series, or just a spin-off title.

"In Japanese newspapers this weekend, eager readers spotted a calendar entry for Square Enix this week - an announcement of a new Dragon Quest game this Tuesday in Tokyo, to be specific. The wording leads us to believe the game is an all new game, rather than new details on anything they've already announced, so what could it be?"

What most fans are hoping for is naturally Dragon Quest IX, which might just be the series' first incarnation on the PlayStation 3. Square Enix is already working on a couple of PS3 projects (Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII), so the technology is already there, we assume.

But 1UP thinks that the timing is all wrong for this kind of huge announcement, and that a spin-off game - or even a remake - would be far more likely to be announced. Well, guess we'll find out soon enough.

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It's all too well know that the first Zelda game for the Wii is pretty much a porting of the GameCube version, which was delayed on purpose by Nintendo so they would save the best for the Wii launch. But, technically speaking, Twilight Princess isn't a 100% Wii game. So, for the sake of argument, wouldn't it make sense for Nintendo to start working on another Zelda game, specifically built for their new console?

Well, for the sake of argument, Game Informer believes it would make perfect sense. And it actually did so one year ago, when Nintendo already began working on the next Legend of Zelda:

"Our sources", writes the magazine, "tell us that the next instalment in this series has been deep in development for around a year. It's highly unlikely that Nintendo would release two Zelda games a year apart, but don't be surprised if this game comes up sooner than you think."

The question is, just how soon is "sooner than we think"? The magazine leads us to believe that Q4 2007 is still too early, however 2008 is a likely possibility... Oh and speaking of late 2007, that's when the next Zelda game will be released on the Nintendo DS, according to the same issue. Unfortunately, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is being delayed from early next year, all the way to October 2007.

I bet this is a lousy news for Warren Spector, as he is a huge Zelda fan it seems. "There are times when Zelda (pick one of 'em - ANY of 'em) is as close to perfection as I need to get. (...) I never feel as heroic, as much a part of something epic and important, as I do when I'm pretending to be Link", says the father of Deus Ex, in an upcoming CVG interview. But if we look at the big picture, Link fans couldn't be happier: a great Zelda game was just released for the Wii, the GameCube version is coming out this week, next year there will be a DS Zelda, and in 2008 yet another one for the Wii. Not too shabby...

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Now there's a name we haven't heard in a while! And if we disregard the Aliens vs. Predator spin-off (albeit kick-ass) series, it's been even longer since we last saw a pure-bred Alien game, based solely on the cinematographic quadrilogy. But as SEGA informs us today, they are now planning to revive the series with multiple next-gen titles, after having signed a licensing agreement with Twentieth Century Fox (who just last week signed the rights for a Firefly MMO game). Currently in pre-production are a first-person shooter and a role-playing game, with the first one to be released in 2009, and the other one hopefully before Duke Nukem Forever.

"As a direct result of Fox's efforts over the past 27 years, Alien has become one of the most recognized franchises in the motion picture industry", said Simon Jeffery, President and Chief Operating Officer, SEGA of America, Inc. "SEGA will utilize the power of next-gen systems to blend the time-honored story with leading edge design technology to deliver a riveting and suspenseful gameplay experience."

"Alien is one of those special franchises that has continued to thrive in licensing long after it has left theaters. The L & M program has been very successful over the years because we have partnered with the best companies in each category and created appealing products that become must-haves for the extremely loyal Alien fans", added Elie Dekel, Executive Vice President, Fox Licensing & Merchandising. "We look forward to partnering with SEGA, a known leader in the gaming industry, to expand the program to the next generation gaming systems and bring the franchise to life with the newest technology and gameplay."

No other information was revealed at this time about the upcoming Alien FPS and RPG, so we can only speculate as to which of their development studios will be charged with making these games (my bet is not on Sports Interactive).

SEGA only dropped one final bit - and that is their Aliens website, where you can currently sign-up for a newsletter, or chat in the forums.

Oh boy... this is gonna be a looong wait...

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