If you've been hearing about the title Imagination Is the Only Escape and have been hoping that you will be getting it in North America anytime soon, we regret to inform you that Nintendo has decided to keep the title in Europe.

Apparently, the company is not comfortable with releasing a title that deals with holocaust and the horrors Jews underwent during the Nazi period. Know more after the jump!

Video game developer and publisher Koei has announced that it will be restructuring in order to better serve both the Western and Asian video game markets. This move has effectively split the company into two divisions, allowing it to focus on the needs and wants of gamers in specific regions. For more on this, head on over to the full article.

Looks like the most popular gadget in Europe this Christmas is the Wii if online searches are anything to judge by. According to the figures released by comScore Inc., the gadgets most frequently searched for in online engines in Europe during the first three weeks of November is the Nintendo Wii followed by the iPod. Next comes the DS lite, the PSP and the iPhone. More in the full article.

David Hecq, a certified gamer who writes reviews and does other things video game journalists have on their to-do lists, is running for mayor of a small town in France. He's the president of AFRS (Française de Revendeurs Spécialisés, an association of video game retailers), runs a gaming website, yet still has time to play politics.

Check out the full article for more details!

Long-time game publisher Atari's financial troubles persist as its Q2 revenues continue to plummet. The firm has lost US$ 7.7 million in the period ending September of 2007, compounding earlier problems starting long before this fiscal cycle.

Financial dips ahead when you read on at the full article.

The nationalistic fervor burns even hotter in EA Sports' FIFA 08 as the developers of one of the world's best-selling sports game franchises announce a collection of 50 songs from artists around the world.

Every national team represented in FIFA 08 has a corresponding song and band from their own country that ups the passion as you take on the world's elite teams in the planet's most popular ballgame.

Included in the mix are artists such as The Hoosiers (UK), Babamars (France), Bodyrox (UK), Junkie XL (Holland), and Santogold (USA), Simian Mobile Disco (UK), CSS (Brazil), Datarock (Norway), Dover (Spain), Ivy Queen (Puerto Rico), Junkie XL (Holland), Maximo Park (UK), Mexican Institute of Sound (Mexico), Peter Bjorn And John (Sweden), Planet Funk (Italy), Superbus (France), The Cat Empire (Australia), and Wir Sind Helden (Germany). Many more are in store to be discovered when the game hits.

"We’ve been working for nearly a year to deliver what we believe is the ultimate FIFA 08 soundtrack," comments Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music at EA. "These are the most songs ever in a FIFA edition representing the most countries in the history of the videogame."

EA Sports' FIFA football franchise is the longest-running football simulation to date and has sold millions of copies around the world with iterations dating back to almost two decades. FIFA 08 will be released on the Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PC, Nintendo DS and Sony PlayStation Portable.

Buy: [FIFA 08 (Wii)]

Buy: [FIFA 08 (PS3)]

Buy: [FIFA 08 (Xbox 360)]
Buy: [FIFA 08 (PC)]
Buy: [FIFA 08 (PSP)]
Buy: [FIFA 08 (DS)]

This just in folks! LucasArts' publishing buddy Activision announced a new Thrillville video game scheduled to be released on platforms Nintendo DS, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Games for Windows. Hmm, we wonder why there's no PS3 version. Anyway the new game will be known as Thrillville: Off the Rails.

The revelation was done by Activision during one of those IDEF exhibition in France. As such, the little details of the new title escaped our radar but we still got the basic info that should make any fan jump with joy. Off the Rails will reportedly feature hundreds of attractions and 15 new settings among others.

Of course, you can't have a Thrillville title without the feature that lets players try out their parks' very rides. As we said, details are still scarce as of now but the Wii version gets a little extra as it will be made compatible with the motion-sensitive controllers. Check back always with us for the latest on Thrillville: Off the Rails.

According to an official announcement made by France-based Ubisoft, the video game publisher is planning to expand its employee base for its studio in Casablanca, Morocco. Spurred by a local government incentive program for high quality jobs in technology, the studio established back in 1998 will open up 150 seats for interested applicants.

 

The Moroccan studio has been active in delivering titles under Ubisoft's umbrella, featuring a portfolio of games such as Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie and Prince of Persia The Two Thrones. They were also responsible for bringing Rayman Raving Rabbids to the DS, together with Star Wars: Lethal Alliance.

And although mostly lacking in the manpower as opposed to Ubisoft's Montreal studios, the 50-man team is currently at work on Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 for the Nintendo DS. And while the studio is the only game developer studio in Morocco or in Northern Africa, the team is mostly staffed by local people - artists and engineers from the local populace.

Managing director of Ubisoft's Casablanca studio, Cyril Vermeil, stated that many of the young people in Morocco are passionate about games: "Our task will be to recruit people who want to grow with Ubisoft to become leading specialists in an industry offering an increasing number of career opportunities for local talent."

Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, said that the studio was established because Ubisoft knew local education system would provide talented people for game development. He concluded the announcement saying:

It is an honor to work with the Moroccan government to significantly expand our presence in the region. Both the video game industry and the Moroccan economy are strong and growing, and we look forward to pioneering the industry in this exciting region.

 

If recent Chart Track polls show anything, The UK region is enjoying Jack Sparrow's latest misadventures in Disney Interactive's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, both on the silverscreen and on consoles. The game is also the number 3 seller for the Nintendo DS and Wii console. PotC's success doesn't seem to end in Britain, however, as we pick up a press wire indicating the game's further success in the rest of Europe.

In France, the game reportedly took the number 1 position on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and PSP; number 2 on Windows PC, number 4 on the Wii, and number 8 on the Nintendo DS. Germany sees the game taking number 1 position on the PS3, number 2 on the PSP, number 3 on PS2 and Xbox 360, and number 4 on the Wii. Here were Disney Interactive Studios VP Craig Relyea's comments regarding the sales:

We are extremely pleased with the success of our Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End video games. Fans all over the world are drawn to the dynamic gameplay and stunning graphics that provide players with a truly immersive experience that goes beyond the events of the films.

 

France-based publishing giant Ubisoft has just announced that Surf's Up (for the Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, NDS, PSP, PS2, GameCube, GBA and PC) has been shipped to stores today. The game, based on Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animations' upcoming animated film of the same title, will allow gamers to become surf legends just like Cody Maverick.

Surf's Up has been rated E10+ by the ESRB and should be available at a US$ 49.99 price tag for copies on the next-gen consoles, a US$ 39.99 price tag on the Sony PS2, PSP and GameCube, a US$ 29.99 for the DS and the Game Boy Advance, and a lowly US$ 19.99 for the PC.

Surf's Up will introduce gamers to the competitive sport of extreme surfing, packed with arcade goodness as only this game can. The game will also bring the player to various surf locales in the island of Pen Gu, where our penguin hero begins his adventure toward being a world-class surfer.

The game will be officially available on June 8, 2007 for North America, starting August 2007 for gamers in Europe (August 10, 2007 for the UK), and starting June 2007 for gamers in the Asia Pacific region (although Australia will get it on September 13, 2007).