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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Agoura Hills, Calif. - Video game publisher THQ (NASD: THQI) on Monday shipped its "Battle of the Bands" exclusively for Nintendo Wii to retailers. The game, which THQ says combines "beat matching and combat," features 30 popular songs recorded in each of five different styles -- rock, funk/hip-hop, country, marching band and Latin -- which players can switch between during head-to-head gameplay.

Port Washington, N.Y. - Bypassing the current troubles in the overall economy, U.S. video game sales hit $1.7 billion in March, up 57% from a year ago on strong sales of Nintendo's Wii and "Super Smash Bros. Brawl," according to industry sales data compiled by market research firm NPD Group. "You'd never know that the U.S. economy was under distress by looking at the video games industry sales figures," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

Redmond, Wash. - Nintendo of America on Friday announced plans to release "Mario Super Sluggers" for the Wii later this year. The game will feature Mario and a cast of other Nintendo characters, and allow users to swing the Wii Remote like a baseball bat, and wave it toward the plate in a pitching motion.

London - The BBC announced on Wednesday that it will release a version of its BBC iPlayer video-on-demand service for the Nintendo Wii. Once the service goes live, a message will be sent to all Wii consoles in the U.K. connected to the Internet, letting them know about the new feature. The BBC said that the total number of requests for downloads and streams of its programming via the iPlayer was 17.2 million in March, up from 14 million in February and 11.2 million in January.

Redmond, Wash. - Nintendo of America said on Tuesday that its "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" for the Wii has become the fastest-selling game in the company's history, moving more than 1.4 million units in the U.S. since its launch on March 9. Nintendo calculated that this means the game sold more than 120 units per minute between launch and March 16. The game features a range of Nintendo and Sega characters, including Mario, Pikachu, Sonic the Hedgehog and Solid Snake.

Redmond, Wash. - Nintendo of America on Wednesday announced plans to launch its new downloadable game service, WiiWare, on May 12. Nintendo hopes developers will use the WiiWare service as a "breeding ground for new games," while consumers will see a wider array of titles for the console made available at a dynamic price range. The company also plans to release its exercise-themed title, "WiiFit," on May 19, which will also introduce the new weight- and motion-sensing Wii Balance Board accessory. The highly anticipated "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" for Wii will ship to retailers on March 9.

Tokyo - Nintendo's "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" has become the fastest-selling game for the Wii to reach 1 million units in Japan, Reuters reports, citing Japanese game magazine publisher Enterbrain. The game reached 1 million in sales just 11 days following its launch on Jan. 31, besting both "Wii Fit" (7 weeks) and "Wii Sports" (11 weeks) to the milestone. The anticipated game is slated for release in North America on March 9.

Tokyo - Profit for Japanese video game maker Nintendo soared 96% during the first three quarters of its fiscal year, ended Dec. 31, propelling the company to raise its sales projections for both its Wii and DS game devices.

To wrap up the 2007 Year in Games, and forecast trends for 2008, we sat down with one of the industry’s biggest authorities, Joseph Olin, President of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. He’s been with the AIAS since 2004, and worked with video games and consumer products for 25 years. We asked him about the biggest developments in gaming this year, and some of the things we’ll see in the next 12 months. Here are Five Questions with Joseph Olin:

Redmond, Wash. - Nintendo has partnered with video game retailer GameStop (NYSE: GME), to offer holiday shoppers unable to find a Wii console in stock -- but willing to pay in full up front -- a rain check redeemable for a Wii in January. GameStop is the only partner for the program, and will be provided with "many tens of thousands" of rain check certificates, according to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime.

Tokyo - Sony's PlayStation 3 outsold rival Nintnedo's Wii console in Japan for the first time this month, Reuters reported, citing sales data compiled by Japan's Enterbrain.