In good news to both Microsoft and Nintendo, the two console-makers have posted profitable quarters. In fact, this is Microsoft Entertainment Division’s first ever profitable three-month segment for the current fiscal year’s first quarter. The division encompasses all of the company’s hardware and software gaming endeavors, recording an operating income of $165 million, compared to last year’s loss of $142 million during the same period.

Nintendo’s profits are even more staggering, though theirs is not quarterly but semi-annual. The Japan-based company has posted an operating profit of up to 188 billion yen, compared to 67.1 billion yen the year before. Sales for this period soared from 299 billion yen to 695 billion yen. The company has raised its annual profit outlook to 275 billion yen, up 30 billion yen from its last forecast.

Meanwhile, the Sony camp is grieving over huge losses of approximately 96.7 billion yen ($847 US million) for the past quarter, down 53.2 billion year-on-year, attributed largely to the price point of the PS3 console. Apparently, the console is selling at a price lower than the production cost, according to a statement put out by the company. Sony aims on breaking even or better in its game business in the second half of the business year to March.

The games division didn’t stop Sony from posting an overall quarterly profit across its fully business. Overall, the company reported a profit of 90.5 billion yen, compared to a loss of 20.8 billion yen during the same period last year. It is attributed largely to strong sales of TVs, cameras and camcorders.

The BAFTA 2007 Video Games Awards winners have been announced, marking a big win for Nintendo with Wii Sports that bagged six of the ceremony’s 15 awards – it was nominated for seven.

Other winners include Okami and God of War 2, both of which walked away with two awards; Crackdown for best action/adventure game and use of audio; and BioShock for best game of the year. Here is the full list of winners.

• Action and Adventure – Crackdown (Realtime Worlds, Microsoft, X360)
  
• Artistic Achievement – Okami (Clover Studio, Capcom, PS2)
  
• Best Game – BioShock (2K Boston/2K Australia, 2K Games, PC, X360)
  
• Casual – Wii Sports (Nintendo, Wii)
  
• Gameplay – Wii Sports (Nintendo, Wii)
  
• Innovation – Wii Sports (Nintendo, Wii)
  
• Multiplayer – Wii Sports (Nintendo, Wii)
  
• Original Score – Okami (Clover Studio, Capcom, PS2)
  
• Sports – Wii Sports (Nintendo, Wii)
  
• Strategy and Simulation – Wii Sports (Nintendo, Wii)
  
• Story and Character – God of War II (SCE Santa Monica, SCE, PS2)
  
• Technical Achievement – God of War II (SCE Santa Monica, SCE, PS2)
  
• Use of Audio – Crackdown (Realtime Worlds, Microsoft, X360)
  
• BAFTA Ones to Watch Award (Independent Dev) – Ragnarawk (Voodoo Boogy)
  
• The PC World Gamers Award (Public Voting Online) – Football Manager 2007 (Sports Interactive, Sega, PC)

With the Games Convention going on in full swing, the organizers of the event sent out a press release announcing the nominees for the “Best of GC” awards. An eleven-member jury of experts has nominated the following games in a total of ten categories. The award ceremony will take place in the Leipziger Messe press conference room on August 24 at 11am.

In the category PC:
- Sam&Max Season One (JoWood Productions Software AG)
- StarCraft 2 (Vivendi Games Deutschland GmbH)
- Hellgate: London (Electronic Arts GmbH)
- Die Siedler Aufstieg eines Königsreichs (Ubisoft GmbH)
- Crysis (Electronic Arts GmbH)
- Enemy Territory Quake Wars (ACTIVISION Deutschland GmbH)

In the category Xbox:
- BioShock (Take 2 Interactive GmbH)
- PES 2008 (Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH)
- Sacred 2: Fallen Angel 360 (Ascaron Entertainment GmbH)
- Eternal Sonata (ATARI Deutschland GmbH)
- Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (EIDOS GmbH)

In the category PSP:
- God of War: Chains of Olympus (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
- PES 2008 (Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH)
- Silent Hill Origins (Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH)

In the category PS2:
- PES 2008 (Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH)
- Crash of the Titans (Vivendi Games Deutschland GmbH)
- Singstar – Die Toten Hosen (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
- BUZZ! – Das Film-Quiz (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)

In the category PS3:
- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH)
- SingStar (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
- Uncharted: Drakes Schicksal (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
- The Eye of Judgment (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
- PES 2008 (Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH)

In the category Wii:
- Wii Fitness (NINTENDO of Europe GmbH)
- Super Mario Galaxy (NINTENDO of Europe GmbH)
- Mario & Sonic bei den Olympischen Spielen (SEGA Germany GmbH)

In the category NDS:
- Eye Training (NINTENDO of Europe GmbH)
- Undercover: Doppeltes Spiel (dtp Entertainment AG)
- The Simpsons Games (Electronic Arts GmbH)

In the category Mobile:
- Skate (Electronic Arts GmbH)
- Medal of Honor Airborne (Electronic Arts GmbH)

In the category Online:
- Hellgate: London (Electronic Arts GmbH)
- Enemy Territory Quake Wars (ACTIVISION Deutschland GmbH)
- Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (EIDOS GmbH)

In the category Best Hardware Product:
- Wii Balance Board (NINTENDO of Europe GmbH)
- Rockband (Electronic Arts GmbH)
- PlayStation®Eye (Sony Computer Entertainment)

This year’s Golden Joystick Awards nominees have been announced, marking the 25th anniversary of the UK’s oldest and biggest award ceremony. The second round of shortlist voting has already begun, with users now able to logon to the event’s site and choose their favorites from 17 categories.

Shortlisted nominees this year include Guitar Hero II, GTA 4, Crysis, Okami, God of War 2 and many other games. The ceremony will be hosted by David Mitchell, star of Channel 4’s Peep Show and feature film Magicians, at London’s Park Lane, Hilton hotel on October 26.

The full, long list of nominees after the jump.
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Ubisoft has announced Surfs Up!, an upcoming surfing game tie-in to the movie of the same name. The game will hit stores July 26, ahead of the movie’s August 10 debut, for the PS3, PS2, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii, Gamecube, DS, GBA and PC.

Developed by Ubisoft’s award-winning Montreal studio, Surf’s Up™ takes players on a tubular surf adventure with Cody Maverick, an up-and-coming surfer, entering his first pro competition. The game plunges players into the exciting world of surfing, featuring thrilling surf tricks, cool surf locales and all the characters from the Surf’s Up movie. Film clips featuring all the characters from the film – including Chicken Joe (Jon Heder) and surfing icons Kelly Slater and Rob Machado (themselves) – are showcased in the game.

Undoubtedly its best success after the Final Fantasy franchise, Square Enix has proudly announced that the Kingdom Hearts series has shipped more than 10 million units worldwide, making it one of the top game franchises in the world. Below is the full regional breakdown:

KINGDOM HEARTS (PAL Release: 1st November 2002, PlayStation 2)
Japan: Over 1.5 million – North America: Over 3.0 million – Europe & PAL: Over 1.1 million

KINGDOM HEARTS: Chain of Memories (PAL Release: 6th May 2005, Game Boy Advance)
Japan: Over 0.4 million – North America: Over 0.9 million – Europe & PAL: Over 0.2 million

KINGDOM HEARTS II (PAL Release: 29th September 2006, PlayStation 2)
Japan: Over 1.1 million – North America: Over 1.7 million – Europe & PAL: Over 0.7 million

Capcom has launched Capcom Unity, an online presence dedicated to its many franchises, including Resident Evil, Mega Man, Lost Planet and others. The site will act as a community hub, offering new product announcements, special offers, forums, as well as other content for its games. It will also be host to exclusive content such as blogs from Lost Planet developers, as well as interviews with people related to the games.

Remember the awesome TMNT games of the yesteryears? Well, hopefully those yesteryears will become present, as Ubisoft has announced that they are creating a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game based on the upcoming CGI flick. In development at the publisher’s Montreal and Quebec studios, the game will feature the turtles’ signature acrobatic moves, team combat and intense fighting. Scoop:

The new TMNT video game uses the same dark and dangerous environments and adventurous themes featured in the new TMNT CGI film being developed by Imagi Animation Studios and Mirage Licensing. The TMNT movie takes place in a New York City plagued by secretive villains and strange, otherworldly creatures. Faced with these perils, the Turtles will experience their most trying time as heroes and as a family, as Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo lose their focus and struggle to maintain their unity and ninja discipline. In the movie and in the highly immersive video game adventure, it’s up to Leonardo and the faithful father figure Splinter to reunite the band of brothers and save New York City from a monstrous evil that lurks around every corner. Video game players will engage in over-the-top acrobatic navigation, collaborative combat and powerful fighting moves.

The game will hit stores worldwide March 13, 2007, just ahead of the film’s release on March 23. It will be available on PC, PS2, PSP, GBA, DS, Gamecube, Wii and Xbox 360.

Bringing good news to SCi is Warner Bros., who has acquired ten percent of the company in a deal worth 44.5 million GBP. SCi is taking this deal very ambitiously, as the company has announced that it will create games based on Looney Tunes characters for portables; produce up to ten games based on Hanna-Barbera characters; games based on the Batman character as well as the hit TV show OC. Additionally, SCi has acquired the licensed for animated TV shows Loonatics Unleashed and Legion of Super Heroes.

That’s not all: it will also produce up to 20 games in total across current and next-gen platforms, with Warner Bros. providing primary distribution and media buying services to Eidos in the US. Expect to see these titles released from 2008 onwards.

A list of games that shipped in the past few days:

• Anarchy Online: Lost Eden
  
• Air Assault: Task Force
  
• Elder Scrolls: Knights of the Nine
  
• Pimp My Ride (X360)
  
• Rayman Raving Rabbids (PC, PS2, GBA)
  
• Rainbow Six: Vegas (PC)
  
• Star Trek
  
• Vigil: Blood Bitterness

Making his flight over to the now-current-generation platforms is Harry Potter. EA has announced that the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix game is in development and is scheduled for a July 2007 release to coincide with the upcoming film adaptation.

“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the first in the franchise that we have developed for the next generation consoles,” said Harvey Elliott, Executive Producer at EA UK. “Together with current generation versions, we are creating an immersive and, above all, faithful Harry Potter experience that will both accurately reflect the world showcased in the film and also delight fans of all ages.”

The game will let players explore the many locations of Hogwarts in minute detail, while playing out the story from the book. Players will have the ability to play as multiple characters, including the titular character himself, Dumbledore and Sirius Black.

In development at EA’s UK Studio, the team behind the previous games in the series, Order of the Phoenix will be released for the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PSP, DS, GBA and PC.

Shipped:

• BattleZone (PSP)
  
• Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
  
• Need for Speed: Carbon
  
• Phantasy Star Universe
  
• Snoopy versus the Red Baron

• Gunpey (DS, PSP)
  
• Viva Pinata (X360)

Sierra Entertainment and 20th Century Fox have announced that the upcoming Eragon videogame will feature actors from the film reprising their roles, including the voice and likenesses of Edward Speleers, Sienna Guillory, Garrett Hedlund and Robert Carlyle.

This star-studded cast will be headlined by newcomer Edward Speleers who will voice the central character Eragon – a young farm boy who discovers that he is destined for greatness as a dragon rider. Sienna Guillory (Resident Evil: Apocalypse) will voice Arya, an elf who is saved by Eragon from King Galbatorix. Garrett Hedlund (Friday Night Lights, Troy, Four Brothers) voices Murtagh, a mysterious figure who becomes Eragon’s unlikely ally. Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting, The Full Monty) will also voice Durza, a powerful shade who controls the Urgal army.

In the videogame, players will live the legend as Eragon, and with Eragon’s mighty dragon Saphira ride into epic battle against an evil king’s sinister forces. Gamers will be able to realise the ancient destiny of the Dragon Riders and save the land of Alagaësia from falling further into darkness. Eragon will overpower foes with a deep combat system, utilising devastating magic attacks, and join forces with Brom or Murtagh at any point in the game’s drop in/drop out co-op mode.

Eragon will be released for the Xbox 360, Xbox, PS2, PSP, DS, PC and GBA on November 24.

These have gone gold:

• Age of Empires III: The Warchiefs
  
• Brigade E5: New Jagged Union
  
• Call of Juarez
  
• Flight Simulator X
  
• Football Manager 2005
  
• Neverend
  
• NBA 2K7
  
• Sam & Max: Culture Shock
  
• The Guild 2
  
• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Dark Crusade
  
• Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania

• 18 Wheels of Steel Haulin’
  
• Arvoch Conflict
  
• Broken Sword: The Angel of Death
  
• Cabela’s Alaskan Adventures
  
• Caesar IV
  
• DEFCON
  
• Dominions 3
  
• EverQuest: The Serpent’s Spine
  
• Ford Bold Moves Street Racing
  
• GTR 2
  
• Hunting Unlimited 4
  
• HyperBall Racing
  
• Just Cause
  
• King of Fighters 2006
  
• Mage Knight Apocalypse
  
• Mage Knight: Destiny’s Soldier (DS)
  
• NBA Live 07
  
• NHL: Eastside Hockey Manager 2007
  
• NRA Gun Club
  
• Okami
  
• Open Season
  
• Pacific Storm
  
• ParaWorld
  
• Silent Heroes
  
• Saint Seiya: The Hades
  
• World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions
  
• Zatchbell!: Mamodo Fury

Hoping to see the likes of Mudvayne, Static-X or Paul Oakenfold in the next Need for Speed game? Well, EA just dashed your dreams then. The company revealed the soundtrack listing for Carbon, offering up 30 tracks from three major genres: hip-hop, rock and electronica. These genres also reflect the game’s three distinct car classes: exotics, muscles and tuners. Muscle cars get the rock treatment from Kyuss, Eagles of Death metal and Wolfmother, while Japanese Tuner cars get the electronica groove from Ladytron, Goldfrapp and others. Exotic cars are represented by hip-hop from Pharell, Lady Sovereign and others.

Below is the full listing:

1. Dynamite MC – Bounce
   
2. Dynamite MC – After Party
   
3. Eagles Of Death Metal – Don’t Speak (I Came to Make A Bang!)
   
4. Ekstrak feat. Know-1 – Hard Drivers
   
5. Every Move A Picture – Signs Of Life
   
6. Gary Numan/Tubeway Army – Are ‘Friends’ Electric
   
7. Grandmaster Flash And The Furious – Scorpio Five
   
8. Goldfrapp – Ride A White Horse (Serge Santiago Remix)
   
9. Kyuss – Hurricane
   
10. Lady Sovereign – Luv Me Or Hate Me
    
11. Ladytron – Sugar (Jagz Kooner Remix)
    
12. Ladytron – Fighting In Built Up Areas
    
13. melody. – FEEL THE RUSH (Junkie XL Remix)
    
14. Metro Riots – Thee Small Faces
    
15. Part 2 feat. Fallacy – One Of Dem Days (Remix)
    
16. Pharrell feat. Lauren – Skateboard P Presents: Show You How To Hustle
    
17. Priestess – I Am The Night, Colour Me Black
    
18. Roots Manuva – No Love
    
19. Spank Rock – What It Look Like
    
20. Sway – Hype Boys
    
21. The Bronx – Around The Horn
    
22. The Presets – Steamworks
    
23. The Vacation – I’m No Good
    
24. Tiga – Good As Gold
    
25. Tigarah – Girl Fight (Mr. D Hyphy Mix)
    
26. Tomas Andersson – Washing Up (Tiga Remix)
    
27. Valient Thorr – Heatseeker
    
28. Vitalic – My Friend Dario
    
29. Wolfmother – Joker And The Thief
    
30. Yonderboi – People Always Talk About The Weather (Junkie XL Remix)