Thanks in large part to Konami's Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Sony is licking some serious PlayStation 3 sales chops. However, the overall leadership remains with Kyoto-based Nintendo as their twin juggernauts Wii and DS posted huge stats again. The official reactions of both companies after the jump.

Tragnarion Studios is sending out word that it will be porting the Nintendo DS game Doodle Hex to the Nintendo Wii. This has been made possible after the company has acquired its license from Nintendo to developer games for the motion-sensing capable system. More on this after the jump!

The latest NPD sales figures are out, and while it certainly looks like there's going to be a major change in its regularly Nintendo-dominated scenery soon, there's a lot of questions that need to be answered. Thankfully, NPD's own Anita Frazier is here to give us an in-depth view of just what the figures mean. All the details in the full article.

After grabbing an Emmy award for its iconic D-pad last year,  Nintendo managed to bag another Emmy Award for excellence in engineering creativity, this time recognizing the Wii's motion-sensing controls and the DS's unique interface. More details in the full article!

Still hung over the gift-giving spree in the recent Christmas holiday? If so, you can still get your altruistic high with homebrew developer Programix' cute DS game, X-Mas Gifts, which also supports DS motion-sensing peripherals, such as the DS Motion Card. The details await in the full article!


Download: X-Mas Gifts

We all know that the Nintendo Wii doesn't sport as much muscle under the hood as its bigger, tougher brothers, the Sony PlayStation 3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360. But Ubisoft Entertainment's own Jade Raymond, one of the minds behind the recently-released video game Assassin's Creed (Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, PC), thinks that the next-gen title can be made to come over to the Nintendo Wii - that is, after a few cosmetic changes here and there.

This bit of news comes from a recent interview with the producer, one that talks about Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed and what was it like being at the helm of it. The topic of course inevitably shifts to Assassin's Creed making the jump to other consoles, and it's when Shigeru's motion-sensing console of joy is brought up. Jade Raymond gave this response:

It would be possible, if we completely changed the gameplay, just like the DS-version. But it wouldn't be the same experience. Unfortunately, it hasn't got the same power as the PS3 and 360.

She also mentions that the development team would have considered the Nintendo Wii as another console to release the title on, had it been more powerful.

While it's certainly no confirmation that a Wii version is in the works, it certainly gives one hope. After all, they managed to get it on the Nintendo DS, didn't they? If they could squeeze the Assassin's Creed experience into a handheld, then there'd be no reason for them not to be able to make it for the Wii. Fingers crossed, in any case.

    

Koch Media and System 3 are cooking up Ferrari Challenge (Wii, DS) with a promise that the Wii version will have "the most accurate motion-sensing steering yet seen on the revolutionary console." We have no idea how the DS version will hold up, or even if how accurate exactly the game will be given little details we know, but we stumbled upon screenshots at least.

From what we can see, both iterations of Ferrari Challenge are making good use of their respective platforms. Sharp car models and lively environments represent the Wii version. The DS version is utilizing both screens, with competent graphics comparable to the best we've seen for the handheld.

We share the sentiments of all racing fans excited to see a flaming hot Ferrari in action, so we'll keep our eyes peeled. Check out these screens for now; updates are sure to follow, so watch this space.

  

More screenshots after the jump!

Nintendo is having tremendous success with its handheld console, the DS, despite the fact that Sony's PlayStation Portable has been providing intense opposition. Given Nintendo's recent moves, it seems that the company is planning to delve deeper into the casual games arena, engaging Apple in the process.

Accordingly, Nintendo recently filed a patent that will bring the Wii's motion-sensing features to the handheld platform hinting that a new DS SKU is coming soon. More interestingly, analysts have said that a motion-sensitive DS is similar to Apple's motion-based accelerometer-enabled iPhone.

  

Apple has reportedly been preparing its library of games for the iPhone. Engadget.com Editorial Director Peter Rojas commented that "Apple is expected to make a gaming announcement soon by Macworld in January at the latest". AppleInsider.com Editor-In-Chief Kasper Jade added, "I was told that a major game developer was seeded with iPhone [technology] quite some time ago".

Some of you may comment that iPhone is not really a contender because it lacks buttons. But technology expert Seth Porges already has an answer to that, "If people could get over the lack of real buttons, the fact that the screen is multi-touch could be ideal for light gaming".

If all of these turn out to be true, then all we can say is that we are all in for a great war between titans Nintendo and Apple and we hope that the consumers will benefit from this in the end.

 

Cing, Inc. CEO Takuya Miyagawa recently sat down alongside the person in charge of Hotel Dusk's art direction, Taisuke Kanasaki, in an interview about the sleeper hit, Hotel Dusk: Room 215 for the Nintendo DS, as well as the success of Another Code and the possibilities of a next-gen sequel for both. We now give you the skinny on all things Cing.

The interview began with Takuya Miyagawa explaining what it took to get Hotel Dusk made - and surprisingly, the game only took about one-and-a-half years of production with 20 staff members deeply involved in the development. That's not bad, considering the fact that Hotel Dusk is one of the most graphically-compelling (not to mention the storyline itself) games for the DS around with its realistic hand-drawn sprites and puzzles.

As for the unique visual style of pencil-sketched cutouts in a realistic 3D setting, Kanasaki explained that they wanted Hotel Dusk to have an unprecedented visual expression not found in any other game. He elaborated that it suited the game's interactive conversational style, with the conversation bits focusing on characters' facial expressions and emotions.

When asked if there was a sequel in the pipeline for Hotel Dusk, Takuya Miyagawa stated that players might have a chance to see Kyle Hyde again in the near future, and that the gruff character we've all grown to like is quite eager to see us too. He also mentions that games like Another Code and Hotel Dusk would work very well with the Wii's innovative control system, and it would be an unprecedented game experience if those two games were realised on Nintendo's console.

Which brings us to our final point, the possibility of a Wii sequel to either game. The CEO of Cing had this to say:

We feel that some ideas are important for DS, while others are important for Wii. Therefore, we think that there should be game styles specialised for each piece of hardware. I think there will be a possibility of the games appearing if something new can be brought to the table in the worlds of Hotel Dusk or Another Code.

Well, that's certainly teasing of them, don't you think? But if one thinks about how Hotel Dusk ended, it's frighteningly easy for Cing to make a sequel. And with the wealth of unique touch-based puzzles they managed to squeeze into the title, just think about what sort of new ones will surface with the Wii's motion-sensing capabilities. Updates as we get them, and you can check out the full interview at the read link we've supplied below.

Nintendo fans from Australia are getting some Ninty-brand loving for both of the company's platforms today. Both the Nintendo DS handheld system and the Nintendo Wii video game console are getting two titles each.

The DS gets Wario: Master of Disguise, which sees the popular anti-hero returning to his wicked ways in this action/theft game. Joining Wario on the DS is Chicken Little: Ace in Action featuring Chicken Little's superhero alter-ego Ace.

The Wii, meanwhile, gets Cooking Mama and Bust-a-Move. Both make use of the Wii's motion-sensing remote. Players can use it to simulate various kitchen utensils in Cooking Mama. In the puzzle game Bust-a-Move, the Wiimote can be used as either a gun or baton to blast bubbles to oblivion and beyond.