Gamersnewsbits.com

I got my early access key for gog.com. If you are looking for that old game that you just couldn’t find at Gamestop or one of the other online shops, gog.com might just have it. It specializes in downloadable, DRM-free “oldie” games, such as Fallout 1 and 2, MDK (and it’s sequel) and many others. They have almost ALL of the old Interplay titles and a large Codemasters catalogue as well. They are working on other relationships with gaming companies, so expect to see a lot of older games there. If you have an urge to play Descent or Stonekeep, you can! They are guaranteed to work in XP and Vista, and are a great deal. I know I have had a lot of these games over the years and either lost them, or just plain gave them away. This is a good way to get those great old games back, try ones you just didn’t get around to, or finally play that game that your old system just couldn’t handle. 

I’ll report on the official opening which should be soon. I’m off to download the Redneck Rampage Collection :) If you want to have a look, the homepage (http://www.gog.com) has a nice teaser of the site, and if you enter your email address, they just may send out a beta key to you!

-e

Think you’re sitting on a chili recipe that’ll blow away the competition? Or perhaps you just want to spend a lovely afternoon sampling delicious food and talking about videogames? Either way, if you’re going to be in the California Bay Area this Sunday, September 21, stop by the Vasona Lake County Park in Los Gatos to hang out with Cryptic Studios and the team behind their upcoming MMO, Champions Online!

Several key members from the Champions Online team will be on hand for this Champions Online Chili Cook-Off, including Cryptic’s Community Relations Manager Victor Wachter, Champions Online Lead Designer Randy Mosiondz, Champions Online Community Representative Lin Daily, and many more! All are available for interviews as well.

The hard details for the event are as follows:

* What: Champions Online Chili Cookoff
* When: Sunday, Sept. 21, from noon to 5 p.m.
* Where: Vasona Lake County Park (Creekside and Meadowbrook picnic sites), 333 Blossom Hill Road, Los Gatos, CA, 95032. (a map of the park can be downloaded here: http://media3.champions-online.com/img/Forums/VasonaLake.pdf)

If you are interested in attending, please email Jerry Whitehead with Reverb Communications at jerry@reverbinc.com or call him at (209) 586-3675 ex. 111. If you want to bring a chili to enter into the competition, download this form (http://media3.champions-online.com/img/Forums/Chili%20Registration.pdf) and submit it with your entry on September 21.

Thanks, and we hope to see you there!

Tales of Pirates (http://top.igg.com) has released a new server Crimson Sea to cope with the ever-increasing number of players joining TOP. A new world and a new start await those who want to experience it, as well as new friends. IGG (http://www.igg.com/) will also hold a 10-day double experience event for the players in the new server. Who will finally take the thrown of the new server and emerge after the Leveling Contest this time? Go check it out!

In order to celebrate the new server release, IGG has prepared cool activities listed below:

Activity One–Double Exp Carnival
Activity Two–Leveling-up Contest
Activity Three–Who will be the next Newbie King?

Come join and have the fun!

For more information, please visit http://top.igg.com/info.php?articleId=1355

Wii Sports™ introduced new players to the world of video games. Wii Fit™ got even more people interested in fun and fitness.

Now Wii Music™ builds on that inclusive legacy by letting people turn their living rooms into fun concert halls. It brings the experience of performing music to people who think learning an instrument is too difficult. Wii Music launches exclusively for the Wii™ console on Oct. 20 and aims to bring a deeper love and appreciation of music to everyone.

Players can improvise jams on the fly with more than 60 instruments. You will find rock favorites like the electric guitar; orchestra standards like trumpet, saxophone and clarinet; and even international instruments like steel drums, marimba and sitar. Players simply select their instruments, and then move their Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ controllers as though they were playing the real thing. Wii Music turns players’ movements into great music, even if you’ve never picked up an instrument before.

Budding musicians can play along to the beat of a diverse array of more than 50 songs from a variety of genres including popular, licensed, classical and Nintendo songs. Or players can improvise by adding new beats or creative twists to the songs. The combinations are endless, and it’s all for the joy of creating fun new tunes.

Once players have their song the way they like it, they can forward it to friends who are also playing Wii Music via the Wii Message Board. Those friends can then put their own spin on the tune and send it back – or pass it along to their friends.

For more information about Wii Music, please visit www.WiiMusic.com.    

‘From Bags to Riches’ Includes DS Systems with Fashion Handbag Rentals

REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 17, 2008 – Women who prefer the hottest designer handbags draped over their arms will now be able to have the hottest portable video game system at their fingertips as well. Nintendo has partnered with From Bags to Riches, a popular online handbag-rental service, to include stylish and colorful Nintendo DS™ systems and games with some rentals through the end of 2008.

From Bags to Riches subscribers will have the chance to borrow a Nintendo DS and games, free of charge, with a 30-day rental of one of From Bags to Riches’ featured handbags from such coveted designers as Prada, Tory Burch, Gucci and Juicy Couture. Consumers can choose the handbag and Nintendo DS that best suit their taste on FromBagstoRiches.com. After the conclusion of the rental period, consumers simply return the Nintendo DS along with the bag.

The designer handbags will be accompanied by a variety of chic Nintendo DS colors, including Metallic Silver, Metallic Rose, Onyx, Crimson/Black or Cobalt/Black. Subscribers will also be able to select from a collection of popular games such as Mystery Case Files™: MillionHeir™, Brain Age™: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day and Nintendogs™.

“In today’s fashion world, carrying customized accessories means everything,” said Kara Richter, CEO and founder of From Bags to Riches. “With the addition of the stylish Nintendo DS, Nintendo brings to fashion accessories what Prada brought to stylish messenger bags.”

“Almost half the Nintendo DS systems sold in the United States last year belong to women,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “With From Bags to Riches, we can help the growing population of female gamers test drive some great Nintendo DS games – and look good while they’re doing it.”

More information about the promotion can be found at www.frombagstoriches.com. For more information about Nintendo DS, visit www.NintendoDS.com.

NICKELODEON PUTS WII FIT FAMILY CHALLENGE FINALISTS IN PRIME TIME

With gold medal fever still fresh in American viewers’ minds, Nintendo and Nickelodeon are giving fitness fans another heart-pumping event to cheer about. Olympic skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi will host the finals of the first-ever Wii Fit™ Family Challenge, a fun-packed competition in which three families will compete for the title of Wii Fit Fittest Family by proving their prowess at Nintendo’s innovative Wii Fit™.  Highlights from the Challenge will air on Oct. 9 on Nick at Nite, interspersed between its prime time programming.

The Wii Fit Family Challenge will feature teams twisting and tilting atop the motion-sensing Wii Balance Board™ in a series of aerobic, yoga, strength training and balancing activities. Finalists in this extraordinary competition have already been awarded a Wii™ video game system, Wii Fit software from Nintendo and a Nickelodeon expense-paid trip to Orlando for the Sept. 17 event taping. 

The Nickelodeon Family Suites in Orlando, Fla., plays host to this entertaining and interactive fitness showdown, culminating in the crowning of the Wii Fit Fittest Family, who’ll win a Nickelodeon and Nintendo grand prize package.

Nintendo’s Wii Fit has already sold more than 1.8 million units in the United States alone since its May 19 release. With the included Wii Balance Board accessory, the game lets every member of the household enjoy a personalized at-home workout, and track progress over time.

For more information about the Wii Fit Family Challenge, please visitwww.WiiFitFamilyChallenge.com.

Keynote and session line-up announced for Game Career Seminar at E-for-All!

Keynote and session line-up announced for Game Career Seminar at E-for-All!

Game Career Seminar, powered by the Game Developers Conference is returning to E-for-All! With a collaborative keynote and interactive sessions, this is set to be the best yet. Start with a keynote session of Andy Schatz of Pocketwatch Games and Dan Paladin of The Behemoth showing different design sensibilities in the game designing process, learn how to create a game industry resume and how loving your inner geek can lead to finding the right game career for you, this will be an event you won’t want to miss!

Register now and break into the game industry today!

Yaaarrrgh! Even me mateys over at Google have made an effort to talk like a pirate with their latest Search Engine Language: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/google-in-one-more-language.html

Enjoy yer Talk Like a Pirate day swabbies, it may be the last you see before you go an visit Davey Jones and his Lockerrrrrr

-e