Nintendo's Wii has followed different rules than the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 since it launched, focusing early on on interface and family-friendly titles rather than graphics and expanded hardware capabilities. That hasn't kept speculators from predicting a hi-def upgrade, however. One analyst in particular, Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities, believes that a Wii HD may be coming as early as next year. Nintendo says no.

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Courtney Love isn't the only musician publicly feuding with Activision now, as No Doubt filed a lawsuit yesterday in Los Angeles regarding their appearance in "Band Hero." In a complaint very similar to Love's regarding Kurt Cobain's use in "Guitar Hero 5," No Doubt believes that their likenesses were re-purposed in ways they didn't approve.

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Fall Out Boy front-man Pete Wentz is one of a handful of celebrities that Activision has tapped thus far to reenact the famous floor-skid underwear scene from "Risky Business." Past stars include Heidi Klum (guh), Alex Rodriguez and Bobby Knight throwing a drum kit. For the "Band Hero" commercial, Wentz is playing backup for Taylor Swift, paired with Rivers Cuomo and Travis Barker, with the band appearing in the buttondown shirt/underwear combo.

I spoke with Wentz about the commercial, as well as his gaming habits.

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Infinity Ward has a lot to be happy about one week before the "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" in-store date. Despite some gamer backlash over the PC version's new multiplayer system, GameStop has already christened the "MW2" release as a record-breaker.

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"Epic Mickey" could become an epic franchise if it performs well enough, and Junction Point Studios' founder Warren Spector planned accordingly. Spector has launched original properties before, but this will be his first big one since Disney purchased Junction Point, and he's aiming high.

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There's no doubt now that "Epic Mickey" will be a Wii-exclusive, but that wasn't originally the case. Gamers and game developers alike know that release dates and calendars for games are rarely set in stone, but not biting off more than you can chew on day one can save face from broken promises down the road. Warren Spector knows a thing or two about development cycles, having worked games like "Deus Ex" and numerous titles in the "Wing Commander" and "Ultima" series. "Epic Mickey" may have the biggest pre-roll-out hype yet for Spector and he credits Disney Interactive Studios for limiting it to one platform to allow him to meet his deadlines.

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"Super Meat Boy," the much anticipated indie platformer based on the beloved and painfully difficult Flash game is, itself, painfully difficult. Well, for a 3-year-old, at least.

Edmund McMillen, one of the game's developers, recently invited his tiny niece, Acacia, to play the PC version of the game and she declared that it was far too difficult for 3-year olds. Thankfully she has some advice for wee gamers out there: "You can play Hobo Rocketship!"

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No matter how jazzed you are about a new "Excitebike" game for the Wii, the pair of game hypers in the video announcing "Excitebike: World Rally" have you beat. These kids pour on the suspense like it's the reveal of a Cleaver family dinner table entrée. Thankfully the announcement did include a gameplay-laden trailer for the new WiiWare release.

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Shigeru Miyamoto has made some pretty incredible video game experiences, many of which will go down as the best video games of all time. But that doesn't mean he hasn't been disappointed with the reaction to some of his games. In a recent interview, I asked the Mario creator if there were any titles which didn't quite have the public support that he would've expected at their release:

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The news that "Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes" was being localized for release in the States came as a pleasant surprise to fans of Capcom’s Vs. fighting series. It was a twisted web of licensed proprieties that finally came together in order to culminate in an almost character-complete roster for the games upcoming release as "Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars." Of the 22 characters that were the game’s original lineup, all but one will not be making the trip across the Pacific, Hakushon Daimaō, from Tatsunoko series The Genie Family.

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