That man right there is Japan's richest man. After his top three finish last year, Nintendo's Hiroshi Yamauchi has now claimed the top spot among Japan's billionaires - thanks to the success of the Nintendo Wii and DS. More details after the jump.

We haven't run out of Grand Theft Auto 4 (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) reports as of late (with recent freezing problems and banning in other countries). This only goes to show that as far as popularity goes, GTA IV is on top of the list. But business publication Forbes wants to know if this hype will be enough to give the Nintendo Wii a run for its money. More at the full article.

In this day and age, it would seem that the boundaries of traditional gender roles are blurring, even with regard to electronic gaming. Forbes, for example, has recently picked up on what appears to be a surge of female interest in the casual game market.

If this sounds interesting to you, feel free to turn to the full article after the jump for more on gender-related gaming.

Atari just received a warning from NASDAQ stating it may be delisted for low stock market value. Even after patching things up with FUNimation, it seems the video game company is in the red once more. Find the details at the full article.

Aside from the shortage this coming holidays for the Wii, Nintendo also seems to face a minor case of writer's block. In an E3 interview by Forbes with George Harrison, Vice President of Marketing for Nintendo, we are given a brief but insightful look into the future of the Wii, post-E3.

In the interview, it was revealed that 32% of Wii consumers are aged 25 and above. Harrison explains that this is because that really was the goal of Nintendo's early marketing strategies. Part of the aim of the Wii is it's social aspect and to expand their audience besides the traditional gamer.

However, one of the side effects of developing early games designed to pull in the non-gamer is that there's a lack of games for the hardcore ones. In fact, the Wii has been experiencing a deluge of Mario games which, although fun and entertaining, won't sit well with more experienced gamers who want a bit more variety on their plate. Harrison answers this concern:

In terms of a complete breakaway into new IP - the introduction of brain-games a couple of years ago for the DS was a radical departure. You saw Wii Fit introduced - that was the most unusual game unveiled at E3! In terms of fictional stories - we're augmenting what we do. We're changing our thinking about what defines a viable piece of entertainment software.

Harrison also addresses the concern about the lack of multiplaying capabilities for the Wii. While he admits that the Wii isn't the best choice for MMORPGs, and although Nintendo believes that playing should be more about "socializing together in a physical location," it can still deliver the goods on an "aggressive [multiplayer] game" that is more relevant to the "social aspect in real life."

Nintendo will soon be releasing FIFA 08, Nitrobike, Guitar Hero III, and Mario Kart, all games with online multiplaying. There will also be a bunch of third-party games gracing the Wii soon.

Forbes Asia revealed its list of 40 richest Japanese for the June 18 issue, and numbers show that former Nintendo chairman Hiroshi Yamauchi jumped up a few spots to third place.

Yamauchi's net worth of US$ 4.8 billion doesn't come close to Bill Gates' US$ 56 billion, but the increase in his riches mean something for Nintendo. Thanks to the massive success the Wii and DS are experiencing, Ninty shares have tripled since January 2006. After dominating sales charts across the world, and almost catching up with the 360 even with earlier release advantage, it's no suprise that the greens are rolling.

From a company that used to sell hanafuda cards and run love hotels, Nintendo sure have gone big with the gaming industry. The only guys that topped Yamauchi were Mori Trust (real estate corporation) CEO Akira Mori who came in at first and Softbank (a telecommunications corporation) CEO Masayoshi Son at second place.

 

A new Forbes report informs us that Namco Bandai Holdings' net profit for the fiscal year (ended March 31) climbed by 71 percent.

This was due to brisk sales of DVDs and game software. The company however predicts slower earnings this year because of the lower-than-expected sales of games for Sony's PlayStation 3. Bandai President Takeo Takasu notes:

PS3 did not make a good start, which will make the transition from the old game console to the next generation system more prolonged than we had earlier thought.

...This will keep a lid on sales of our video games in the first half, although we believe that sales of PS3 will increase in the second half (to March 2008)

Namco bandai says that it has only sold 300,000 copies of Gundam Musou, far lower than their expected 500,000 copies. It is reported that because of this Namco Bandai plans to release only 23 titles (still a lot if you ask other folks) for the PS3 this fiscal year, compared to the 24 titles for Microsoft's Xbox 360, and the 37 titles for Nintendo's Wii.

We all wanted to be a sports star at one point in our lives. But there are only a handful who get to live that dream. Take Tiger Woods, for example. At 30 years young, he has earned US$ 58 million in career tournament winnings, and has been ranked as the fifth among the top 100 celebrities of 2006 by Forbes.

And as if that isn't enough, he had to have his own game published by EA Sports. Yep, and it's been enjoying quite a following since its October '06 release. Oh well, some guys just have all the luck.

But, hey. There's no time to mope for our less-fortunate souls. Anyway, we have here a new video for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07. This one's the Rings Minigame gameplay for Wii. So, it's never too late to become that sports star. Maybe this vid will show you a trick or two on how pros do it. Just like Tiger.

Heads up everyone, as a dark and unholy alliance has been forged between Sega Sammy and Sanrio, as announced on Forbes this Christmas day.

In any case, we are still trying to wrap our minds around the fact that Sammy, who is known for the versus game series Guilty Gear, and Sanrio who has spawned the evil that is Hello Kitty, will be teaming up content-wise. According to the report, the companies will be sitting down to "discuss jointly developing new products based on their stable of characters, as well as examining new joint services and online businesses, among others".

Uh-oh. Does this mean that the next Guilty Gear installment will have Bridget walking around with a Kero Keroppi plush toy while Eddie turns... gulp... pink?

Video-gaming's big business these days, if the financial reports on bigwigs like Ubisoft and Blizzard developers are a clue. And for the guys who'd like a slice of the pie, business magazine Forbes just laid out some interesting info for the gamer who thinks he/she has what it takes to make headway in game dev.

It's a short how-to guide on what one has to do to get into game development, and for the benefit of the guys who prefer a summary, here's a brief:

Seek an internship: EA's executive producer on the Madden NFL franchise, Dale Jackson, reiterates on this one. His department hires interns from Georgia Tech, University of Southern California and Carnegie Mellon on an annual basis to let the students work on real title. And for prospective fans, the turnout's promising: Jackson says that at least half of the guys who intern end up becoming full-time employees at EA. The bad news? Most companies don't have an internship program, which leads us to option two...

Make mods: Synonymous with homebrews, hacks, Addons...you get the idea. By consistently working on freelance projects like these, aspiring game developers are letting companies know that they're serious about their commitment. Plus, it makes for a good portfolio. As Coray Seifert, associate producer for studio Kaos says, "If we see someone who makes games in their spare time for fun, then we know they will be dedicated employees."

Be a playtester: MMORPG gamers are definitely familiar with this. Beta testers are the unofficial crash-test-dummies guinea pigs of big-laden prototypes, and as such, expect plenty of headaches and frustrating moments as you pore through hours of game time trying to iron out the errors. If it's any consolation, guys like Dennis Allard Crow, associate producer of Kaos started out by play-testing for Activision.