Tokyo - Nintendo has announced plans to introduce a new model of its handheld DS game system that be lighter and slimmer yet sport larger dual screens, two built-in 0.3-megapixel digital cameras, an SD card slot, Web browser and music player software.

Tokyo - Nintendo plans to release a new version of its popular DS handheld game device that incorporates a digital camera, digital music player and improved Wi-Fi reception, GameDaily reported, citing articles in Japanese newspapers. Nikkei Net reported that the new DS with added functionality will sell for around $189.

Port Washington, N.Y. - U.S. video game sales were up 9% in August, to $1.08 billion, representing the smallest jump in over two years, according to a report from market research firm NPD Group. "Despite smaller growth this month, the industry is up 32 percent year-to-date and remains on target to achieve annual revenues in the range of $22 billion to $24 billion," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

Rockville, Md. - Hillcrest Labs announced on Wednesday that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Nintendo, over the motion-sensing controller and navigation interface display system of its Wii video game console.

Tokyo - Japanese video game developer Nintendo has announced that sales for its recent quarter were up 34% from a year ago, to $993 million, while net sales were up 24%, to $3.91 billion.

Tokyo - Nintendo said on Tuesday that it has filed suit against five Japanese companies, accusing them of importing and selling equipment that allows users to play pirated games on Nintendo DS handheld game devices, Reuters reported.

Tokyo - Nintendo has partnered with Fujifilm to allow Japanese owners of its Wii video game console to order prints via the Internet of photos uploaded through memory cards to the console. The service will let users print singles, photo books, or even business cards that display their own photos, personalized "Mii" avatar, or characters from Nintendo's various properties. Wired.com reports that Nintendo plans to launch the service in North America and Europe some time in the future.

Seattle - RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK), which in May said it would spin-off its casual games unit into a separate business, on Wednesday announced a number of new partnerships that will expand its casual games into retail stores, and onto new platforms like the Nintendo Wii. The company aligned with Topics Entertainment to distribute RealArcade titles in retail stores, including "UNO Undercover," based on the classic card game from Mattel. Real also developed a game specifically for National Geographic Channel, and will provide titles for the network's new games site. The company recently announced plans to publish games for the Nintendo Wii and DS; created "South Park Imaginationland" for the iPhone; and is looking to distribute games on Xbox Live Arcade and WiiWare.

Port Washington, N.Y. - U.S. video game sales were up 53% in June from a year ago, to $1.69 billion, and although Sony (NYSE: SNE) got a major bump in sales via the top-selling, PlayStation 3-exclusive "Metal Gear Solid 4," Nintendo once again led with sales of 666,000 Wii consoles during the month, according to sales data compiled by market research firm NPD Group. Konami's "Metal Gear Solid 4" led overall with sales of 775,000 units, helping spike PlayStation 3 sales by 94% month-over-month to 405,000 units; Microsoft's (NASD: MSFT) Xbox 360 sold 219,800 units in June.

Los Angeles - Nintendo on Tuesday announced plans to release a new add-on for the motion-sensing controller for its Wii game console that "allows for more comprehensive tracking of a player's arm position and orientation, providing players with an unmatched level of precision and immersion," as well as "Wii Music," the company's answer to popular games like "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band." The Wii MotionPlus accessory hooks into the bottom of an existing Wii Remote controller, so that "every slight movement players make with their wrist or arm is rendered identically in real time on the screen, providing a true 1:1 response in their game play."

Los Angeles - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) plans to slash $50 off the price of its Xbox 360 video game console in advance of the industry's E3 trade show this month, bringing the price for the 20GB model to $299, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which cited "a major retailer." The cut would make the Xbox 360 Pro $100 cheaper than Sony's (NYSE: SNE) 40GB PlayStation 3, and bring it closer to the top-selling Nintendo Wii, which currently costs $250.

Port Washington, N.Y. - Sales of video game hardware and software in the U.S. were up 37% in May from a year ago, to $1.12 billion, boosted by Take-Two Interactive's (NASD: TTWO) bestseller "Grand Theft Auto IV," which sold 871,300 units during the month, according to data from market research firm NPD Group. Nintendo led hardware sales for the fourth consecutive month, moving 675,000 Wii consoles and 453,000 DS handhelds, compared with sales of 209,000 Sony (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3 consoles and 187,000 Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) Xbox 360s.

Redmond, Wash. - Nintendo on Monday announced the U.S. launch of "Wii Fit," its fitness-based suite of games for the Wii console that comes with the new Wii Balance Board accessory. The $90 bundle, which has already sold more than 2 million copies in Japan, is set to go on sale from U.S. retailers on Wednesday.

Today, May 19th, is the official launch for the much talked about Nintendo Wii Fit. It’s been a big success in Japan, but is American ready to leave the couch and embrace so called "exergaming"? I think the answer is both yes and no. The Nintendo Wii’s groundbreaking controllers pioneered a new wave of what I call “off-couch” gaming and the success of video games such as “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” has solidified that trend on other game consoles. But just how much fun the the Wii Fit?

New York - Sales of Take-Two Interactive's (NASD: TTWO) "Grand Theft Auto IV" helped boost U.S. video game sales by in April by 47% from a year ago, to $1.23 billion. Despite sales of 1.85 million copies of Grand Theft Auto for Xbox 360 and 1 million copies for the PlayStation 3, this oddly did not translate into increased sales of the consoles, which in fact saw shipments decrease from March.

Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) has announced that its Xbox 360 beat out rival next-generation video game consoles from Sony (NYSE: SNE) and Nintendo to become the first to sell over 10 million units in the U.S.

Lufkin, Texas - Nintendo of America has been ordered to pay $21 million in patent infringement damages to Texas-based Anascape, which sued the company over the design of its Wii Classic, WaveBird and Gamecube controllers, the Associated Press reports.

Redmond, Wash. - Nintendo of America on Monday debuted its WiiWare service, which allows owners of its Wii game console to download new games over an Internet connection from a range of large and independent publishers.