According to the terms of the agreement, THQ has until October 13, 2009 to release the game and must pay for its manufacturing in addition to the royalty fee incurred by using a Nintendo property. All aspects of the title, including packaging and advertising, must first be approved by Nintendo.

Other examples of Nintendo handing out its IPs to external developers include Hudson's Mario Party series (Wii, DS, GBA, GCN, N64), Square Enix's Mario Hoops 3-on-3 (DS), Namco's Star Fox Assault (GCN), and Sega's Sonic & Mario at the Olympic Games (Wii, DS).

Sega has also been on a licensing kick lately, lending out beloved franchises such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Afterburner, Crazy Taxi, and Alien Syndrome to BioWare, Planet Moon Studios, Sniper Studios, and Totally Games, respectively. While most of the above games follow in the footsteps of the original series, BioWare's effort, a DS RPG starring the fabled blue speedster, marks a new direction for the IP.

The game has players exploring the dream realm of Nightopia, guided by the titular jester NiGHTS, trying to restore the placid calm the land once knew before the no-good Nightmarens arrived. The Some sort of online play will be included, though the details of this mode haven't been revealed yet.

To see how the title takes advantage of the Wii remote's motion-sensing features, check out Nick Breckon's unenthusiastic impressions.

The news has been confirmed on the official Smash Bros. site, which contains screenshots as well as a trailer showcasing plenty of Sonic spin-dash action. "The one whose Smash appearance has been most desired dashes in from far away at supersonic speed," the site bafflingly reads.

Along with the revelation came news that the game has been delayed in Japan until January 28, 2008. While there is no explicit word on a change in North America from the game's previously announced December 3 shipment target, the official North American site ominously lists a release date of "TBD."

EA moved down to #2, with Activision coming in at #3, Ubisoft moving up to #4, and THQ rounding out the top five. Take-Two Interactive and Sega of America took the next two slots. As far as the other first-party publishers, Sony Computer Entertainment came in at #8, one slot above Microsoft Game Studios. Fans of niche Japanese gaming will be pleased to know that Atlus has joined the Top 20 for the first time at #18, while ailing Atari has dropped off.

Game Developer publisher CMP Game Group compiled its list by considering detailed responses from over 300 members of the game publishing community, as well as sales and review data, release portfolios, and employee pay.

A full list of the Top 20 Publishers follows. The full 100-page report is available for purchase from Game Developer Research, with a summary in the October 2007 issue of Game Developer. ... Read more

Subscribers of the Turner Broadcasting-owned PC service will be able to stream the new titles, the other two of which are Frictional Games' PC survival horror adventure Penumbra Overture and Sixteen Tons Entertainment's strategic PC disaster simulator Emergency 3, beginning today.

The company will also be updating the rotation of its free ad-supported offerings with 27 more PC and console titles, bringing the total number of current free-to-play games to 43. The new games are as follows:... Read more

Shacknews has contacted Sega for comment, but has yet to receive a response.

Original Story: The PC version of Petroglyph's Universe at War: Earth Assault, originally scheduled to arrive this year, has been delayed into next year. Both the PC and Xbox 360 iterations are now slated for a January release.

"The new release date means that both the PC version and Xbox 360 version will launch closer together," Sega told CVG, "allowing gamers to enjoy the full experience of this fantastic RTS from acclaimed developer, Petroglyph."

When released, Universe at War will be among the few games to support cross-platform multiplayer, allowing PC and Xbox 360 owners to face off against one another. A closed multiplayer PC beta of Universe at War is currently underway.

"There may well be further games in these series, but they won't be developed by Bizarre," community and web lead Ben Ward told Shacknews. "Geometry Wars is still Bizarre's baby, and we will continue to develop further games in the series just like we've always planned. Also, GW:Galaxies (Wii, DS) will still be released by Sierra."

Original Story: Bizarre Creations, developer of the Microsoft-published Project Gotham Racing series and the Geometry Wars franchise, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision.

The studio most recently finished work on the Microsoft-published Xbox 360 racer Project Gotham Racing 4, which is due out on October 4. Bizarre is also working with Sega on the third-person shooter The Club (PC, PS3, X360) and with Sierra and Kuju Entertainment on Wii and DS iterations of the seminal multi-directional grid-based shooter Geometry Wars. It is unclear how the acquisition will affect future titles in said franchises, though Shacknews has inquired as to the ownership of the various Bizarre-developed IPs.

Following news of the acquisition, the studio announced it has begun development on two new titles-one a racing title, the other ... Read more

Gearbox is said to love both Sonic Team's Dreamcast original and sequel, which utilized a set of special height and motion-sensitive maracas and required players to shake the maracas at varying heights in beat with the music, so it's not too far-fetched of a proposition--especially since the company is working with Sega on the upcoming Aliens FPS.

Given the popularity of the Wii and the capabilities of its controller, a Wii edition of the always-popular-in-a-social-setting Samba could tackle two of the biggest barriers that prevented the original from taking off: the sinking popularity of the Dreamcast and the cost of the $80 maracas, which were not bundled with the game.

Shacknews attempted to confirm this news with both Sega and Gearbox, but had yet to receive a comment as of publication. In the meantime, this writer will be fishing out his Dreamcast and imported copy of Samba de Amigo Ver. 2000 and shaking two fistfuls of awesome to such hits as Bellini's "Samba de Janeiro," Reel Big Fish's cover of A-ha's "Take on Me," and Hideki Naganuma's Jet Set Grind Radio anthem "Let Mom Sleep."

Compile and HAL Laboratory's multi-color blob dropping SNES puzzler Kirby's Avalanche may seem a bit familiar, but for good reason. A Kirby-themed rendition of Compile's Puyo Puyo, also known as Puyo Pop, it's basically Nintendo's version of the Compile-developed Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, a Genesis puzzler set in the Sonic universe which has been available on Virtual Console since December. Setting up massive chain combos and watching an unusually vocal Kirby talk trash runs 800 Wii Points ($8).

On the other end of the spectrum is Sega's Streets of Rage 3, which should sate the desires of anyone who finds themselves weary of color-matching. As with the past two iterations of the Genesis brawling series, players face off against Mr. X and his wily attempts to overtake the city with gang ... Read more

With few enemies to tackle, your task in Nights literally revolves around revolution. Twirling the purple-suited character through series of rings and into various pick-ups is the main attraction. Flying through a link without missing a ring builds up a combo chain, which rewards you with an increasing number of points. The whole experience feels polished, but a bit dated in design--a fact that may actually excite long-time fans of the original Saturn title.

Developed internally at Sega, Yakuza 2 picks up one year after the events of the original. As in the first, main character Kazuma will finesse his way through both social and polticial situations as he attempts to bring stability and order to the seedy Japanese underworld. As Sega puts it, this translates to "punching hundreds if not thousands of people really, really hard" and flirting with some saucy ladies.

With Yakuza 3 recently announced for the PlayStation 3, the series' fate in North America had been unclear. Now with the sequel on its way over, it's likely that the third will make the transition as well. No word yet if Yakuza 2 will continue in the tradition of the first's profanity-laden localization.

As for the Nintendo DS games, Sega's Dinosaur King has players... Read more

In addition to LocoRoco, this week's Thursday PlayStation Store update will bring four demos: EA Black Box's Tony Hawk-killer Skate, SCEA Studios San Diego's NBA 08, Sega Racing Studio's rally car racer Sega Rally Revo, and Paradigm Entertainment's Stuntman: Ignition.

Sega accompanied the demo with a slew of new screenshots for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 versions of the game.

Though the role has a different title, Steinberg will report directly to marketing chief Peter Dille, as Karraker did, and will handle "all hardware, software and channel marketing for PlayStation in North America."

"Scott has an ideal blend of experience in digital entertainment and content delivery as well as a proven track record for strategic innovation... Read more

The followup to Nintendo's beloved Super Nintendo egg-tosser Yoshi's Island, which is sadly not yet available via VC, the shorter and less well-received Yoshi's Story carries a price of 1,000 Wii Points ($10).

Sega's Genesis helicopter shooter Super Thunder Blade buzzes in at the cost of 800 Wii Points ($8). Hudson Soft's World Class Baseball, which Nintendo claims is the TurboGrafx-16's "definitive baseball game," slides home for 600 Wii Points ($6).