NINTENDO

Video game sales for November rose 12 percent in November, led by strong Xbox 360 game sales and a slight increase for Playstation 2 titles, according to a new report.

Despite being available in larger quantities in North America this weekend than its launch rival Sony PlayStation 3, one report indicates that eager consumers quickly snapped up all available Nintendo Wii game consoles.

Sony generated much fanfare last weekend with the debut of its Playstation 3 gaming console in Japan, but rivals Microsoft and Nintendo are preparing their own systems for lucrative holiday buying season.

Anticipation is growing as Sony and Nintendo prepare for the North American releases of their latest gaming consoles. With Microsoft already set with the Xbox 360, and a strong offering from Nintendo, some experts believe that Sony will lose its tight grip on the worldwide gaming market.

America's largest video game retailer said on Thursday that will begin accepting pre-orders for Nintendo's anticipated Wii video game console in October 13.

As quickly as it began, the nation's largest gaming retailer sold completely out of Sony Playstation 3 pre-orders.

Nintendo is ramping up production of its next-generation Wii game-console, indicating that the firm should meet its expected shipment dates for this year.

Unbeknownst to many of her peers, 70-year-old Barbara Sainte-Hilaire, MTV's senior video game correspondent and star of the blog Old Grandma Hardcore, is a sensation in video game circles.

Japanese video game maker Nintendo Co. expects to price its new Wii gaming console below 250 euros ($321.50) in Europe, its head of German operations said on Wednesday.

Electronic Arts on Thursday said it is developing six games for Nintendo's upcoming Wii video game console, whose selling point is a motion-detecting controller that allows players to simulate swinging a bat, golf club or sword.