The New Year is just about here... which means the majority of the QJ news team is out boozing it up, getting tipsy and declaring their love for each other between spurts of uncontrollable giggling. That doesn't mean they haven't left a few coherent words. Our own Gino D wanted to make a statement detailing his thoughts on new IP's, this year, and looking into the next.

The Leipzig Games Convention organizers have decided, and they find Sony's Resistance: Retribution for the PSP as the best presented game in this year's event. Who else took bacons home? Check out the list after the jump.

This week welcomes the much-loved and much-awaited Metal Gear Solid 4 from Konami. No longer should we worry about broken street dates, because today it all becomes official. But Solid Snake is not the only superhero around as there's also Goku and the gang of Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, as well as the big, green machine, The Incredible Hulk. If you'd rather work on the sidelines, then Don King Present: Prizefigther is here as well to show you the ropes of managing in the boxing profession, as well as Total Extreme Wrestling 2008. More games await after the jump!

The launch of Square Enix' Dragon Quest IV for the Nintendo DS headlines Media Create's latest software sales numbers for November 19 to November 25. Konami's World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008 scores across the board, while Nintendo's Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games race to take a spot.

Runner-ups await at the full article!

 

Although Sega, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), Capcom, and Microsoft are still a no-go, organizers IDG World Expo confirmed that dozens of game companies are confirmed to attend the E For All (EforAll) convention coming in October. The trade show that focuses more on the consumer is set for the Hollywood limelight starting October 18 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Carolyn Rauch, former ESA vice president now in IDG World Expo's camp, said:

We have over 50 exhibitors, including Nintendo, Namco, THQ, Konami, EA and other major companies to be announced shortly. This is a group of companies that sold about half of all the games purchased in the U.S. last year.

Packed with events and programs dedicated to the consumer, E For All is often mistaken as the replacement of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). But for IDG World Expo, it's simply an avenue for consumers to relive their part of the former E3.

Rauch maintained that official announcements of attending companies would be released in the near future. She added:

Gamers should be excited because this event is all about them -- from a terrific line up of the newest games from the industry's leading publishers, to the World Series of Video Games tournament and Video Games Live concert.

Roll out the red carpet! Leipzig Messe has just announced the winners for the "Best of GC" during the Leipzig Games Convention 2007. The awards span across all current generation platforms and other industry-related tidbits showcased during the event, all dispersed under ten respective categories.

Among the list of 85 hardware and software entries, a lineup of finalists have been revealed. And with those finalists, it seemed to be a tough call on which to choose as the winner. Each of the finalists had their own big plus to bring into the table, that's for sure. Regardless, the winners have already been announced.

Here's the full list of winners of the Best of GC, each in their own category:

• God of War: Chains of Olympus (Sony Computer Entertainment) - PSP
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami) - PS2
  
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami) - PS3
• BioShock (Take-Two Interactive) - Xbox 360
• Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega) - Nintendo Wii
• Eye Training (Nintendo) - Nintendo DS
• Crysis (Electronic Arts) - PC
• Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (Eidos) - Online
• Wii Balance Board - Hardware/Accessory/Product

An award was supposed to have been given for the Mobile category, however, there weren't enough participants to have warranted the prize.

What are they playing over at Sweden? Aren't you curious? This bit of info just might save your life one day, y'know. The region's data trade firm, Dataspelsbranschen (now try saying that as fast as you can, ten times consecutively), has just released the top sales charts of video games for Sweden.

The Multiplatform chart is dominated by the MMORPG mogul that is The World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade from Blizzard. This is followed by Pokémon Diamond on the Nintendo DS. MotorStorm and R:FoM have also landed a place in the multiplatform chart, and unsurprisingly, both titles get bragging rights in the PS3 chart.

The 360 chart has Guitar Hero II fronting the musical act - and smack dab in the middle is Gears of War on fifth place. The Wii has Leon Kennedy and Ashley Graham running up to first place with Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, while Twilight Princess is galloping up to the Top 2 spot.

On the handheld side, the DS chart has both Pokemon (Diamond and Pearl) titles on top, while the PSP chart has Pro Evolution Soccer 6 kicking into the goal - Konami's sports title is enjoying the kingly spot on top.

 Multiformat

1. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (PC)
2. Pokémon Diamond (DS)
3. World of Warcraft (PC)
4. Counter-Strike 1: Anthology (PC)
5. Guitar Hero 2 Rock the 80´s (PS2)
6. The Sims 2 H&M Fashion (PC)
7. Pokémon Pearl (DS)
8. Motorstorm (PS3)
9. Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3)
10. Singstar 90's (PS2)

Check out the Full Article link below for each individual chart per platform!

With Day 1 of the E3 Business and Media Summit over, there sure are lots of major announcements, demos, and preview videos and screens to get excited over. The Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots trailers were finally shown, along with some other teaser and demo videos like the Gears of War PC and Rock Band live demos, among many others. Initial screenshots of highly anticipated games were also released during Day 1.

Among those who've revealed much to the E3 audience in their July 11 press conferences are Nintendo Company Ltd., Sony Computer Entertainment, Microsoft Corp., Electronic Arts (EA), Konami Corporation, Activision, and Midway Games.

One of the biggest news during Sony's press conference was delivered by Kaz Hirai himself. He announced the new and re-designed PlayStation Portable (also being coined PSPSlim) which is said to be 19% slimmer and 33% lighter than the current version being sold. Microsoft also gave the audience a treat with a Gears of War PC live demo. Nintendo on the other hand, confirmed the release dates of some of its upcoming games, and also announced its Wii Fit video game and Wii Balancing Board.

We're certain you know most of what happened in Day 1 of the E3 Media and Business Summit 2007, but if you don't, we might as well have a recap of the day. Click on the links below and read up! The Full Article link contains the complete list of our E3 coverage, so make sure to also check it out.


Breaking News:

Blasting onto PCs: Gears of War, among other things
E3 Update: Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns of the Patriots to be the grand finale of the series, says Kojima
E3 Updates from Sony: News on PS3 exclusives
Confirmed: Unreal Tournament 3 to be timed PS3 exclusive


Previews and first glances:

E3 update: Soul Calibur Legends E3 2007 video
Killzone 2 E3 2007 trailer
Rock Band E3 videos: trailer and live demo from Peter Moore
E3 2007 Update: Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer
E3: Gears of War PC live demo during Microsoft
E3 2007: LittleBigPlanet screenshots
E3: Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 to be "even nuttier"
Konami releases first screenshots of Silent Hill 5 for E3


That's it from us for now, but rest assured we'll be giving you the latest on the E3 Media and Business Summit's Day 2. Stay tuned.

Italy's Gamestore Magazine has announced annual winners for the Italian Games Awards and it dished out laurels to all the areas of gaming be it in terms of products, communication and accessories. Here are the big winners for this year.

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION:

1) Best Trade AD Campaign
Electronic Arts - Fifa 07 Evolution
2) Best Print AD Consumer Campaign
Nintendo - Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training
3) Best TV Spot
Microsoft - Gears of War
4) Best Radio Spot
Electronic Arts - The Sims 2 Pets
5) Best Online Campaign
Vivendi - World of Warcraft
6) Best Packaging
DDE - Guild Wars Nightfall Collector’s Edition
7) Best POS Material
Vivendi - World of Warcraft
8) Best Budget Line
Activision - Best Of Activision
9) Best Launch Event
Scei - PS3 Dome
10) Best Co-Marketing Activity
Konami / Halifax - PES 6 with Gazzetta dello Sport
11) Best Charity Iniative - Ex Aequo:
Nintendo - Nintendo for Abio
Halifax with Bible and AMREF

The winners were selected by consumers and industry insiders according to the organizers. QJ congratulates all the winners and we're hoping to see even greater stuff next year!

You can check the whole roster behind the Full Article link below.