Ubisoft Reveals the First Shaun White Skateboarding Game

Today Ubisoft announces the creation of Shaun White Skateboarding, a video game in development with dual-sport professional athlete and two-time Olympic gold medalist, Shaun White; arriving on Xbox 360 during Holiday 2010.

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Ubisoft Reveals the First Shaun White Skateboarding Game

Shaun White Skateboarding rolling out this holiday

Ubisoft Montreal screwing wheels to Olympic gold medalist’s board for “action sports” title on unspecified platforms later this year.

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Shaun White Skateboarding rolling out this holiday

Kotaku Off Topic: Stop The World [How Is This News?]

Please, Kotaku Off Topic commenters and contributors, bring some sanity to the site. This has already been a very weird week for the video game industry and it’s only Monday. We could all use something to ground us. Personally, something beyond tonight’s selection of beers would be appreciated, so enjoyable trivia, lighthearted conversation about the topic of your choice, and amusing links to not necessarily video game related things are encouraged. Look here’s some of that now! Fractions of a Second: An Olympic Musical – NY Times offers auralization of Olympic finishes. Amazing just how close these races are. Body acoustics can turn your arm into a touchscreen – See you guys in the future! Gorillaz – Stylo – Great looking video.

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Kotaku Off Topic: Stop The World [How Is This News?]

Video Game Namesake Wins Olympic Gold [Olympics]

“Shaun White” isn’t just some name on some snowboarding game called Shaun White Snowboarding. He’s an actual person! And he’s won Olympic gold. Again. After taking Olympic gold for halfpipe at the 2006 Torino competition, White has won gold yet again at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. White did so well on his first run that he posted the recording-breaking top score. So does that mean there is a Shaun White Snowboarding coverboy curse? No, quite the opposite. White, Vonn, Davis Win Olympic Gold in Record-Tying U.S. Haul [BusinessWeek] [ Pic ]

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Video Game Namesake Wins Olympic Gold [Olympics]

Will We Ever See Games In The Winter Games? [Olympics]

This happens every two years. Someone looks for an Olympics story, someone thinks up a video game angle, and presto, reconstituted discussion of video games as an Olympic event. This year’s participant: Macleans, the Canadian news magazine. Macleans quotes Ted Owen, who’s certainly beat this drum before. He’s the boss of the Global Gaming League, and got Chinese organziers to commit to including a gaming tournament as an official welcome event before the government canceled all nonessential events in light of protests and other controversies. Owen reasons that video games belong in the games because they tend to attract younger and more energetic audiences, demographics the Olympics always are interested in. He also points out professional gamers in some Asian countries are treated like celebrities, which indicates a mainstream acceptance of the idea. Macleans then quotes Ross Rebagliati, the first Olympic gold medalist in snowboarding. He doesn’t think it should be considered a sport for anyone capable of physical activity. “”It would be like, in the Paralympics, having athletes running in the wheelchair endurance races who don’t need to be in a wheelchair,” he said. Me, I think the Olympics feature enough performance art and nonsports competitions as it is. I just can’t fathom something as grandiose as the Olympics, propped up on tradition as it is, handing out golds to people on headsets sitting at a mouse and keyboard. But I’ve been wrong about a lot of things in my life. Will There Ever Be An Olympic Medal For ‘Call of Duty’? [Macleans]

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Will We Ever See Games In The Winter Games? [Olympics]

The Problem(s) with Olympic Video Games [Stick Jockey]

Maybe you noticed Vancouver 2010 , the official title for the Winter Olympics, released last week. But more than VIII Olympiads since the Activision Decathlon and the Epyx Summer Games, the Olympics still have no real toehold in the sports genre. There are any number of reasons why, but the fact remains: It is the biggest sports property least served by traditional sports game adaptations. For an enterprise commanding billions in television rights fees, with a global viewership second only to international football, its video games are practically nonentities. Worse, Olympic games have really yet to seriously compete with their 8-bit forebears, like Konami’s Track and Field, for widespread appeal. Fantasy-based games like Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games seem to do much better instead. The problems faced by Olympics simulations are many, and not all of them as obvious as you might think. • First and foremost: There’s four years between titles, but it doesn’t deliver the benefit ofa four-year development cycle. So the delay between versions amounts to a once-per console generation offering so far. That makes every version into a first-adopter decision. Yes, the Winter and Summer Games are staggered by two years but you are still dealing with wildly divergent offerings. • There’s no unifying thread of gameplay among all the events, which essentially makes an Olympics game a series of minigames. Then, the objectives at hand are then either extremely basic – run as fast as you can in one direction – or inscrutably complex, such as a gymnastics floor routine. Notably, figure skating is not a part of Vancouver 2010, likely because building a stand-alone title on this type of sport would be challenging enough. Reducing it to one component in a larger title would probably require gameplay simplified to the point of trivializing the event. • With the exception of events like boxing, ice hockey and basketball – none of which are included in the Beijing or Vancouver game – these sports just are not compelling enough in the American television market for more than two out of every 208 weeks on the calendar. Like it or not, sports games take their cues from this market. Mixed martial arts’ rise as a television phenomenon means we’ll see three titles in the span of 18 months, after all. But even Olympic showpieces like figure skating, women’s gymnastics, swimming and downhill skiing barely register a blip outside of an Olympic year, much less outside the Olympics themselves. • Then, the most interesting events to younger players are already poached by separate titles. We see this especially with the Winter Olympics, which have added more extreme-sports inspired events to grow its appeal and television audience. Well, Shaun White already has a snowboarding title, and entertaining performance events like the half-pipe aren’t even in Vancouver 2010. • There’s no meaningful career mode. In real life, the Olympics are not just a two-week burst of adrenaline, they’re the culmination of four years of training and qualifying. For some athletes, the drive to make their nation’s Olympic team is a motivation absolutely unique among sports – especially if they narrowly missed qualifying in an earlier Olympics, or are near the end of their careers. This kind of career progression has no analogue in Olympics video games and, unfortunately, it’s essential to caring about one’s performance in the Games themselves, even if virtually. • Finally, there’s a lack of recognizable, or even playable superstars. Half the fantasy of modern sports games is either competing as that sport’s leading talent, or with him or her as a created player. Recent Olympics games are more about competing for one’s country rather than inhabiting the persona of its top performers, by now a basic component of a sports simulation. So what to do? Considering how a multisport competition is so necessarily gameplay driven, an Olympics video game might be better served as an arcade-size PlayStation Network or Xbox Live release. Of course, it depends on how much a retail copy will still sell among a sports gaming public not as discriminating in its purchases – because rights holders have most likely paid a sum that can’t be recouped without a retail release, no matter how poorly received. But ideally, a digital download of a few popular events – or several packages of events that gamers may pick and choose – might deliver a better value. At any rate, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone recommending the Olympics as a $60 video game purchase. It seems that by releasing every four years, Olympics video games have evolved at a quarter the rate of their other sports peers, especially in the era of three-dimensional gameplay. The Olympic motto may be Swifter, Higher, Stronger. But some lowered expectations might serve both gamer and publisher here.

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The Problem(s) with Olympic Video Games [Stick Jockey]

Vancouver 2010 – The Official Video Game of the Olympic Winter Games Review

The limited selection of events leaves these Olympic Games out in the cold.

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Vancouver 2010 – The Official Video Game of the Olympic Winter Games Review

Week in Games: Total Finances Destruction [New Releases]

If the holidays weren’t enough of a wallet-wrecker, Army of Two: The 40th Day, is here to deal another $60 critical hit to your bank account. The Olympics are just around the corner, which means the biennial failfest of Olympic-branded games occurs on Xbox 360 and PS3. Serious Sam comes to Xbox Live Arcade on Wednesday. This week’s count: Four for PC and DS, three for Wii and Xbox 360, two for PS3, one for PSP. Monday (Jan. 11) Chronos Twins DX (Wii) Mary Kay Andrews: The Fixer Upper (PC) Touch Solitaire (DS) Tuesday (Jan. 12) Army of Two: The 40th Day (PS3, PSP, 360) Daniel X: The Ultimate Power (DS) Sands of Destruction (DS) Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces (Wii) The Sims 2 Fun With Pets Collection (PC) Twin Sector (PC) Vancouver 2010 – The Official Video Game of the Olympic Winter Games (PS3, 360) Walk It Out (Wii) Windy X Windam (DS) Wednesday (Jan. 13) Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter (360) Friday (Jan. 15) Secret Files 2: Puritas Cordis (PC)

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Week in Games: Total Finances Destruction [New Releases]

Mario, Zelda Strike Down Final Fantasy XIII In Japan [Sales Get]

After a debut week as impressive as an Odin summon, Final Fantasy XIII’s second week on the market in Japan shows that Lightning’s sales legs that aren’t quite as impressive as Mario’s. Nintendo’s New Super Mario Bros. Wii returns to software sales chart dominance after a week off, moving another half-million copies in Japan. The Wii game beats out Link’s newest adventure, giving The Legend of Zelda: Spirits Tracks a second place debut appearance on the charts with 291,000 copies sold. Nintendo also took third, with the astoundingly popular Tomodachi Collection. That leaves Final Fantasy XIII in fourth place, moving another 189,000 copies this week, according to Media Create . The rest of the top ten is all Nintendo—and Namco Bandai—with DS and Wii games outselling everything else in Japan. The numbers, after this. 01. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) – 506,000 / 2,440,000 02. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS) – 291,000 / NEW 03. Tomodachi Collection (DS) – 227,000 / 2,317,000 04. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3) – 189,000 / 1,690,000 05. Pokemon HeartGold / SoulSilver (DS) – 125,000 / 3,465,000 06. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) – 114,000 / 1,315,000 07. Inazuma Eleven 2: Fire / Blizzard (DS) – 99,000 / 908,000 08. Wii Sports Resort (DS) – 72,000 / 1,568,000 09. Taiko no Tatsujin Wii Dodoon to 2 Yome! (Wii) – 64,000 / 200,000 10. Layton Kyouju to Majin no Fue (DS) – 64,000 / 559,000 11. PokePark Wii: Pikachu no Daibouken (Wii) 12. Phantasy Star Portable 2 (PSP) 13. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (DS) 14. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) 15. Pen 1 Grand Prix: Penguin no Mondai Special (DS) 16. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010 (PSP) 17. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) 18. Momotarou Dentetsu 2010 Senkoku Ishin no Hero Daisyuugou ! No Ken (Wii) 19. Sengoku Musou 3 (Wii) 20. Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam Next Plus (PSP) 21. Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimate Accel 3 (PSP) 22. Power Pro Kun Pocket 12 (DS) 23. Tamagotchi no Narikiri Channel (DS) 24. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3) 25. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii) 26. Dorabase 2: Nettou Urutorasu Tajiamu (DS) 27. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (the Best) (PSP) 28. Dragon Quest IX (DS) 29. Little Busters! Converted Edition (PS2) 30. Metal Fight Beyblade: Bakutan Cyber Pegasus (DS)

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Mario, Zelda Strike Down Final Fantasy XIII In Japan [Sales Get]

Mario, Zelda Strike Down Final Fantasy XIII In Japan [Sales Get]

After a debut week as impressive as an Odin summon, Final Fantasy XIII’s second week on the market in Japan shows that Lightning’s sales legs that aren’t quite as impressive as Mario’s. Nintendo’s New Super Mario Bros. Wii returns to software sales chart dominance after a week off, moving another half-million copies in Japan. The Wii game beats out Link’s newest adventure, giving The Legend of Zelda: Spirits Tracks a second place debut appearance on the charts with 291,000 copies sold. Nintendo also took third, with the astoundingly popular Tomodachi Collection. That leaves Final Fantasy XIII in fourth place, moving another 189,000 copies this week, according to Media Create . The rest of the top ten is all Nintendo—and Namco Bandai—with DS and Wii games outselling everything else in Japan. The numbers, after this. 01. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) – 506,000 / 2,440,000 02. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS) – 291,000 / NEW 03. Tomodachi Collection (DS) – 227,000 / 2,317,000 04. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3) – 189,000 / 1,690,000 05. Pokemon HeartGold / SoulSilver (DS) – 125,000 / 3,465,000 06. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) – 114,000 / 1,315,000 07. Inazuma Eleven 2: Fire / Blizzard (DS) – 99,000 / 908,000 08. Wii Sports Resort (DS) – 72,000 / 1,568,000 09. Taiko no Tatsujin Wii Dodoon to 2 Yome! (Wii) – 64,000 / 200,000 10. Layton Kyouju to Majin no Fue (DS) – 64,000 / 559,000 11. PokePark Wii: Pikachu no Daibouken (Wii) 12. Phantasy Star Portable 2 (PSP) 13. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (DS) 14. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) 15. Pen 1 Grand Prix: Penguin no Mondai Special (DS) 16. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010 (PSP) 17. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) 18. Momotarou Dentetsu 2010 Senkoku Ishin no Hero Daisyuugou ! No Ken (Wii) 19. Sengoku Musou 3 (Wii) 20. Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam Next Plus (PSP) 21. Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimate Accel 3 (PSP) 22. Power Pro Kun Pocket 12 (DS) 23. Tamagotchi no Narikiri Channel (DS) 24. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3) 25. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii) 26. Dorabase 2: Nettou Urutorasu Tajiamu (DS) 27. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (the Best) (PSP) 28. Dragon Quest IX (DS) 29. Little Busters! Converted Edition (PS2) 30. Metal Fight Beyblade: Bakutan Cyber Pegasus (DS)

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Mario, Zelda Strike Down Final Fantasy XIII In Japan [Sales Get]

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