Late Night Consoling

Earlier this year, Electronic Arts LA brought its PC real-time strategy title The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II to Xbox 360. Now, the same team is taking EALA's upcoming Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars, initially announced only for PC, to Xbox 360 as well. Similar methods and control schemes used in Battle for Middle-earth II will be used in this PC-to-console translation of the latest in the long running Westwood-created strategy franchise. - Xbox 360 screenshots.

Command & Conquer 3 will contain both a single-player campaign as well as multiplayer over Xbox Live. It also retains the C&C traditional of live-action cinematic cutscenes. EA promises "a steady stream of downloadable content" to be available for the game.

Electronic Arts plans to ship EALA's Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars for Xbox 360 and PC in 2007.

Nintendo today send out a press release detailing the gradual rollout of the various features that comprise its upcoming system's Wii Channels. The specifically game-related channels, including the basic Disc Channel that plays Wii and GameCube games as well as the Wii Ship Channel that allows downloading of Virtual Console titles, will be up on launch day. The avatar creation tool the Mii Channel will also be up at launch, as will the Photo Channel, which allows users to view digital photographs and transfer them to the console for use in messages.

Two channels, the Forecast Channel and News Channel, will be coming in the following weeks. The Weathernews-supplied Forecast Channel, which allows users to find local and wordwide weather forecasts via a spinning 3D globe, will be made available on December 20, 2006. The News Channel, whose material will be contributed by the Associated Press, will follow on January 27, 2007. Previously, CNN was rumored to be Wii's news provider, based on an interview published in EDGE Magazine. Apparently, the Wii's web browser from Opera will be available soon after launch, but Nintendo did not announce a specific date.

Nintendo also indicated what kind of schedule users can expect for Virtual Console releases. The initial release will consist of "at least 12" of the 30 VC titles announced for the launch period, with new games added each Monday until the full 30 have been made available by the end of 2006. It is not clear whether Nintendo plans to continue the same pace of releases, which would be three to four games a week.

Japanese publication Famitsu has details on a new crime action/adventure game called Shinjuku Wolf (or The Wolf of Shinjuku, depending on who you ask), game that, apart from its cel-shaded graphical style, apparently shares many similarities with Sega/Amusement Vision's Yakuza. The game's protagonist is detective named Eiji Mikami, who solves cases in gritty areas of the city of Shinjuku. In addition to action, the game features crime investigation, questioning, and an open world environment.

Shinjuku Wolf is being produced by Shinji Waseki, who previously worked on dating simulations. It is expected to ship in Japan next spring. Capcom has not made any mention of a North American release.

PlayStation 3 will be released soon, but it seems that two Elk Grove, California men just couldn't wait. The Sacramento Bee reports that at least four PS3s and an unspecified number of Xbox 360s were stolen from a GameStop store in an armed robbery. Elk Grove police recommend that console campers line up in groups rather than alone and do not carry cash.

Nintendo announced this week that it plans to ship 400,000 Wii consoles to Japan for the system's launch, more than quadrupling the approximately 90,000 PlayStation 3 units that were available at that console's release this weekend. The company has not given specific launch numbers for other territories, though it has stated that the largest shipment will go to North America.

Following the announcement, Nintendo's stock hit an all-time high of 26,770 yen ($227).

This one managed to slip through the cracks during the news onslaught this week. Microsoft announced on Tuesday that this Wednesday's Xbox Live Arcade release would be Midway's classic Defender. It turns out the game ended up being delayed in certification, but was eventually released for 400 Microsoft Points ($5).

Konami sends word that its PSP first person shooter Coded Arms has joined Sony's Greatest Hits program, and now carries a suggested retail price of $19.99.

Two more Coded Arms games are currently in the works, Coded Arms Contagion for PSP and Coded Arms Assault for PlayStation 3, both expected in 2007.

Business Week has an interview with Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, who coincidentally turned 54 today, in which the designer speaks on the motivations behind and goals for the Wii. Interestingly, Miyamoto notes that the machine's low price relative to its competitors is actually the result of an initial desire to build a console that would sell for $100, but the cost of various components put that price point out of reach.