During the holiday shopping extravaganza, you may be wondering what interesting thing to get that gamer friend on your list. While games or anything hardware related are always great ideas, sometimes that could be an expensive undertaking and there are plenty of neat things out there that do not cost an arm and leg. Clothing is one of those things, because you can get gamer or geek t-shirts pretty cheap, and nothing says “I am a gamer, hear me roar” or ” I am proud to be a nerd” like a very cool shirt.

Here are just some of the neat ones I came across while doing a bit of shopping last night:

This shirt was found on ThinkGeek.com, and VERY cool website that anyone worth their weight in achievement points would be aware of. Not only do they have some great items for sale, but they have tons of t-shirts just begging to be purchased. I just recently bought something for myself from the site just a couple of days ago.

This is my favorite gamer t-shirt of all time: the Viva Miyamato. Mine is so very very worn out, that I am thankful this one is still around so that I can still show off my geekiness to the masses in my little town. They do not understand it in the slightest I am sure, and they probably think I am some sort of communist, but that is all part of the fun. You can get it from pennyarcade.com.

A must have item for anyone who is an RPG nut, especially for those of us who were (and still are) passionate about our rouge, paladin, monk or cleric. It does not matter if you prefer to be lawful good, neutral, or just plain chaotic evil–no matter what the aliment option chosen, this is a fun piece of apparel and will tell the world in no uncertain terms that you are indeed a proud cellar dweller. There are other cool shirts over on jinx.com, but I personally liked this one the best.

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A few weeks back at E3, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed that a new Pikmin game was in the works. And that was it; no details at all. Now though, a trademark made by Nintendo has been unearthed for the name “Piktura,” which of course sounds ominously like a possible name for a Pikmin game. Besides that, there’s also the added coincidence that the trademark was filed a mere month before E3.

So now there’s the obvious question: what the hell is “Piktura?” My guess is it’s either a new Pikmin title, something involving taking pictures, or possibly both. The way Nintendo’s been flip-flopping between their casual and core markets, it’s really up in the at this point.

Via Siliconera

Some people just take up a hobby for their spare time, and that’s it. Shigeru Miyamoto, on the other hand, tends to take up hobbies and translate them into hit video game ideas. He takes up gardening, and Pikmin is born; he gets a puppy, and suddenly we’ve got Nintendogs. So maybe it actually makes sense that Nintendo has now asked him to avoid talking about his current hobbies publicly. After all, with the Wii still on top of the console heap, anything Miyamoto might even just be thinking about could possibly turn into Nintendo’s next big reveal.

Whatever he comes up with, it’ll probably turn into a unique gameplay experience, although I wouldn’t bet on something geared towards the “core” gamers at this point. Let’s just hope he isn’t taking up taxidermy right now, even though I’m sure that would work great with the Wii’s motion controls.

Via The Times Online

I probably could’ve guessed this, but it’s still nice to hear someone actually say it. Shigeru Miyamoto has confirmed that Nintendo is already working on new installments to the Mario and Zelda franchises, not to mention a new Pikmin game. He confirmed that he was managing development teams for these titles in a recent interview with The Telegraph:

“Making these ‘traditional’ games is what I am best at. Because games of that nature take upwards of two or three years to make, we always have to keep the teams working on those projects going. At any given time, the team could be five to ten people, or it could be 50-plus. People are always switching in and out of those teams. They are all working on more Mario, Zelda and Pikmin projects. And they all work in close proximity to me, so I can keep a good eye on them.”

Well, that’s good to hear. Of course it makes me wonder if we’ll actually be seeing these games any time soon, but this takes the sting off of their sub-par E3 press conference. Just a little bit though.

Via MCV

Some of the games industry’s most influential people are aiming some sharp criticism at the Entertainment Software Association’s E3 Expo.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, EA boss John Riccitiello has had enough of E3’s more intimate setting.

“I hate E3 like this.”

“Either we need to go back to the old E3, or we’ll have to have our own private events.”

Ubisoft US boss Laurent Detoc was less kind.

“E3 this year is terrible. The world used to come to E3. Now it’s like a pipe-fitters show in the basement,” he declared.

The E3 Expo has gone from a must attend gala every May hosting 60,000 souls to a much smaller event. Although the E3 2008 was relocated back to LA, only 5,000 attended and several regulars dropped out of the line up including Activision, Codemasters, Her Entertainment, id Software, Lucas Arts, NCSoft and Vivendi.

Nintendo had previously assured its support for E3. However Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto has stated that the company’s core games will no longer be showcased at the expo according to GamesIndustry.biz.

“For a very long time, E3 was an event where — and certainly Nintendo included — catered specifically to the core gamer. Now we look at more … an opportunity for us to introduce new concepts and new types of play that we intend to bring to the broader audience, particularly because of the media that gathers at E3 now,” said Miyamoto to MSNBC.

It seems that the E3 Expo of today is missing more than just booth babes. The message from the industry is becoming clear; either the ESA restores E3 to its former glory or the expo will continue to fade away.

So the big question is… will E3 return to its hay day or will PAX take its place as the US expo to attend?

via Eurogamer

I’ve yet to speak with anyone who didn’t find Nintendo’s press briefing earlier this week to be a disappointment, but there were still several noteworthy things in there, such as the Motion Plus. Over on 1UP, you can check out an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto and Katsuya Eguchi, who is the director of Animal Crossing: City Folk.

Regarding Wii Sports Resort, Miyamoto confirmed that the game will require the Wii Motion Plus. That equates to a very pricey experience if you intend on playing multiplayer, since you’ll need to buy those second, third and fourth Motion Plus add-ons individually. Nintendo has yet to reveal pricing on the unit, but even at $10 – $20, you’re looking at a lot of money for a four-player session of Wii Sports Resort.

1UP also asked about the storage problems that Wii owners are having (you know, that one only hardcore gamers care about) and while they wouldn’t go into any specifics, Miyamoto did say, “We could potentially announce something in the near future.”

You can read the full interview here.

The Nintendo press conference should be wrapping up soon, if it hasn’t already, and if it is anything like last year’s it will have Miyamoto demoing the star game and winning over the crowd by showing that genuine, infectious smile of his.

Jonathan and Shawn are there right now, so we should be getting details on the contents of the press conference sometime soon, until then, I will just speculate about what I see in these Wii Music screens. I predict that your Mii will pick an instrument, you will control it with the Wii controllers, and you can get the whole family in on the deal. It will be colorful, active, and toted as a fun experience via the wacky commercials which are bound to start airing any day now.

Sounds like just about every other Nintendo Wii game out there.

While political debate rages on about the evils of video games, others are looking at this form of entertainment as therapy. While the medical field has been adapting video games for training purposes for quite sometime, Dance Dance Revolution was overlooked by the public even as schools started to incorporate it into PE curriculum. Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto introduced Wii Fit to the world ushering in public awareness that video games aren’t just for entertainment and edutainment anymore.

Like the Wii console, “Wii Fit” has been sold out since it shipped in North America last month. The game’s already sold over 688,000 units at $90 each, according to The NPD Group.

Michael Pachter, video game analyst for Wedbush Morgan Securities, believes “Wii Fit” sales will top 3 million this year as long as Nintendo can keep up with demand.

Miyamoto said he would like families to use “Wii Fit” together and make gamers more conscious of exercise and what they eat.

Wii Fit has made way for a new line of personal health and wellness games. Ubisoft’s My Weight Loss Coach for the DS is soon to be followed by Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking for the DS this fall. Several other titles that take advantage of the Wii Balance Board are inbound. Video game therapy has finally hit mainstream.

Although I’m not convinced that video games can completely replace gyms, nutritionists and personal trainers; I do believe they can be effective tools to help people become more aware of their health. I’m also grateful that video games can join organized sports in teaching people that fitness can be fun.

via PC World

As someone who has written about videogames for years, I know as well as anyone the annoyance of spell check. Whether it’s Word, Firefox, or whatever else, spell check has been the bane of my existence for the last seven years. Everything from “videogame” to “Shigeru Miyamoto” to “Ikaruga,” it’s a constant struggle for anyone in the biz. (I actually type in plain old Notepad now, just out of spite.)

Imagine, if you would, what any article about videogames would look like if spell check was to be believed. GamesRadar went through the trouble of actually seeing what kind of world we’d love in if that were the case. The results? Horrifying.

There would be no Castlevania – only Televangelist. No Katamari Damacy — just Catamaran Intimacy. No Pikmin – just Minibike, as depicted above.

What other examples can you come up with?

Shigeru Miyamoto has been credited with many accomplishments, but he is honored to be compared to Walt Disney as long as the people of Nintendo receive credit as well.

“What’s important is that the people that I work with are also recognized and that it’s the Nintendo brand that goes forward and continues to become strong and popular,” he said by way of comparing Walt Disney’s role in the larger brand with his. “And if people are going to consider the Nintendo brand as being on the same level as the Disney brand, that’s very flattering and makes me happy to hear,” he added, through an interpreter.

In thirty years with Nintendo, Miyamoto has has provided the world with mass entertainment and enduring cultural icons such as Mario, Donkey Kong, and Zelda. Despite his staggering financial success, unsurpassed since Disney’s fabled career, Miyamoto lives a quiet life as a part of Nintendo rather than as a celebrity. Perhaps this is why Shigeru Miyamoto is one of the most recognized names in gaming today.

via The New York Times