While we've pretty much all realised Kinect will not be able to give us a great hardcore experience, it can still play a part in core titles through voice recognition. Kinect engineer at Rare, David Quinn, told Gamasutra we can expect a lot more speech recognition in future core games.

Talking about his experience on Kinect Sports and Kinect Sports Season 2When asked which challenges Kinect still had to overcome, Quinn said:

What I'd like to see and what we're investigating now is a more natural conversation way of talking to the Kinect, so you can say, "Hey, caddy, give me a five iron," or "Hey, caddy, what should I use now?"

We're looking at that now, improving the speech system, so I think that would probably be the one that I'm personally the most interested in, mainly because I did so much work with speech in Sports 2.

Quinn was also very impressed by the voice recognition in Mass Effect 3, and things it points to the future for Kinect:

I think from here on in you'll see a lot of speech in core games.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist is just one upcoming core game that supports Kinect voice commands.

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Viral survival

Teyon's maintaining its formidable DSiWare output ratio with Escape the Virus: Swarm Survival out in North America this week.

The 200 Point download asks you to form the longest DNA chain you can while dodging harmful viruses in Normal mode, or offers a Baby mode where you simply cart the DNA pieces to safety. WiiWare veterans may note the similarities to Viral Survival.

It's out this Thursday in North America for 200 Points, and follows in Europe on 5th July.

[youtube:QGhpx-1C1OM]

Dodge, wind and jump to Escape the Virus on Nintendo DSiWare!

Kraków, June 26th 2012

Teyon, a video games developer and digital publisher, announced today that they have partnered with FUN UNIT, a Japanese developer of casual games, to release the action-packed puzzler, Escape the Virus: Swarm Survival. The game will be published on June 28th in North America and a week later, on July 5th, in Europe. Put your survival skills to the test in this reflex-awakening game in the micro-world for just 200 Nintendo DSi Points™ on Nintendo DSiWare™ and € 2,- on Nintendo eShop.
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Discover a whole new world hidden beyond the limits of the human eye. Dodge, wind and jump to link all pieces of DNA and build the longest chain ever while fighting off vicious viruses. Longer chains are more difficult to control but they come with a greater score multiplier. Look at your surroundings and you will quickly get one of bonuses such as a vaccine or a micro-world equivalent of a rocket-launcher! With this kind of equipment the viruses don’t stand a chance! The game features two game-play modes. In the Normal mode your goal is to make the longest DNA chain while in the Baby mode you are a DNA guardian sneaking between enemies to transport DNA pieces to safety.

Features:
· 2 exciting modes of game-play: Normal and Baby
· use special bonuses such as a rocket launcher or a vaccine
· hectic action testing your reflex
· easy-to-play but challenging game-play.

Visit Teyon’s official YouTube Channel to watch the official trailer of the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGhpx-1C1OM

Escape the Virus: Swarm Survival site is available here: http://www.teyon.com/games/escape-the-virus-swarm-survival/

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Just realised the Dad in the Wii U demonstrations reminds me of Phil Dunphy. Except more annoying, somehow: http://t.co/yZOVAvee

Breaking: Pope commits to Catholicism

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata assured everyone looking forward to the Wii U launch that it won't be a repeat of the 3DS's high-priced launch debacle.

As we all remember, 3DS sales stalled at its original price point, with the system's fortunes only improving after a significant price drop in August 2011. Iwata told newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun:

We won't make the same mistake that we did with the 3DS, which was considered relatively high by consumers.

Of course this is no surprise — Iwata's hardly likely to say the opposite — and back in December 2011, Nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aime said Nintendo doesn't want a 3DS price situation on Wii U. Until Nintendo announces the Wii U launch price in a few months' time we'll just have to sit tight.

Iwata also moved to assure investors Nintendo would return to profitability by the end of the financial year.

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Still big in Japan

Pokémon Black & White 2 landed in Japan on Saturday 23rd June and racked up an astonishing 1,618,621 sales across the country in its first weekend.

It's the fastest-selling game of the year, the first 2012 game on any platform to pass 1m sales and the third fastest-selling DS game of all time.

It's a big drop-off in sales from its predecessor, though: back in 2010 Pokémon Black and White scored 2,637,285 sales in its first weekend.

Lifetime hardware sales in Japan so far stand at 32.8m units for DS and 6.3m for 3DS.

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Capcom Confirms Killer Line-Up for Eurogamer Expo - Push Square http://t.co/4M4KKHrH via @pushsquare

Hum the music

Popular Pokémon destination Pokémon Global Link has just received a new lick of paint and brand new features, ahead of the release of Pokémon Black & White 2 later this year.

The site now includes a Global Trade Station for observing Pokémon trades and new statistics for you to pore over, such as which country is home to the strongest trainers or the most prolific cyclists. My Page has also been upgraded, letting you look at your own records more easily.

Elsewhere, the Icy Cave area has opened up in the Pokémon Dream World, letting you catch chilly Pokémon like Sneasel, Swinub and Spheal. You can also more easily control which area of the Dream World you visit based on the type of Pokémon you 'tuck in'; bed down an Ice-type for a bigger chance of reaching Icy Cave, for instance.

Fans who buy Pokémon Black & White 2 later this year will get access to an exclusive Dream World area where they can encounter and capture Pokémon from the Unova region.

This is all well and good, but sadly this announcement hasn't come on the best day: the Pokémon Global Link site goes down for maintenance on Tuesdays. You should be able to check out the new features tomorrow.

POKÉMON GLOBAL LINK RELAUNCHES WITH A FRESH LOOK AND COOL NEW FEATURES

Unique Features Also Added for Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2 Video Game Players

London, UK — 26thJune 2012 — The Pokémon Company International relaunched the Pokémon Global Link website today, delivering a fresh look and exciting new features for Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version video game players to explore this summer. The updated website includes new player data in its Reports and My Page sections, plus a brand-new area to visit in the Pokémon Dream World. The Global Trade Station has also launched at the site, allowing players to observe Pokémon trades happening around the world.

On the Pokémon Global Link’s new Reports page, players can view and analyze previously unavailable Global Battle Union and Wi-Fi Competition information such as the most popular Pokémon used by top players. The Reports page will also track Ratings and Rankings for players all over the world who battle via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. And, in the page’s Game Sync World Records section, players can view how countries around the world rank in different game stats, including top cycling locations, top healing locations, top battling locations, and more. The new My Page section will make it easier to track your own game’s progress and statistics, including personal reports like Global Battle Union results, Global Trade Station trades, and more.

A brand-new area in the Pokémon Dream World has also arrived. Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version video game players can now tuck in their favorite Pokémon and explore the new Icy Cave area. In the Icy Cave, players can meet Ice-type Pokémon such as Sneasel, Spheal, and Swinub, and bring them back into their copy of Pokémon Black Version or Pokémon White Version. Also new to the Pokémon Dream World, players have more control over which Island of Dreams area they visit, based on the type of Pokémon they have tucked in. For instance, players can give themselves a better chance at arriving in the new Icy Cave area by tucking in an Ice-type Pokémon.

When the Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2 video games launch this autumn, only players of the new titles will be able to meet Unova region Pokémon in the Pokémon Dream World and bring them back into their copy of the game. More Pokémon Global Link features for the Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2 games will be announced later this year.

For more information about the Pokémon Global Link and the Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2 video games, please visit www.pokemon.co.uk.

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Wow, Far Cry 3 gets delayed - now out in EU on 29th November, 4th December in North America. At least it's not Q1 2013, though!

One love

This week sees the start of Wimbledon, and with Mario Tennis Open only a month old Nintendo's combined the two in infographic format.

The official series history starts from 3D sports game Mario's Tennis and ends with... 3D sports game Mario Tennis Open. Weird.

It's a bit confusing, though: it mentions Mario Tennis in 2004, presumably meaning Mario Power Tennis, and notes it was re-released on Wii as New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis. It also says Mario Tennis Open is the series' return after a 7-year wait; impressive time-bending skills, as Mario Power Tennis launched on Wii in 2009.

See if you can pick up on any other inaccuracies while chowing down on your strawberries and cream.

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Nintendo Champions the History of Mario Tennis

To celebrate the start of Wimbledon, the oldest tennis tournament in the world, Nintendo has released a special Mario Tennis Open infographic which showcases the great history of Mario Tennis titles released since the first game in 1995.

Nintendo has delivered action-packed tennis fun since Mario’s Tennis first appeared on the Virtual Boy handheld in 1995. Each new game across the Nintendo 64, Game Boy Colour, GameCube and Game Boy Advance brings more excitement and features, increasing the number of playable characters, mini-games, multiplayer modes and colourful graphics.

The latest in the popular 17-year series, Mario Tennis Open launched on 25th May on Nintendo 3DS and brings together the best elements from the franchise in a champion game! It is the first Mario Tennis title to feature online play and has amazing 3D graphics, without the need for special glasses. Players can choose to compete as their favourite Mario character or as their own Mii and can customize their skills by dressing in different tennis gear. There are also quirky mini-games where tennis is used to complete a level from Super Mario Bros. (NES) and players are challenged with obscured vision thanks to three Ink Flowers.

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Mario Tennis history by Nintendo. Lovely to see Waluigi's 64-bit debut honoured, too. Stay angry, skinny dude: http://t.co/JYSd41tb