The London Movie Comic Media Expo isn't known for its gaming section, with much of its attendees preferring other forms of entertainment. But all that's gonna change this year, or improve at the very least, because apart from the support of some of today's A-list publishers, the London MCM Expo is attempting to set the World Record for "largest number of people in costume for a video game."

It's no secret that Nintendo has been making a lot of money over the last few months. At this point, most people would probably expect that the company's stocks would be as good as gold. According to Bloomberg Japan, however, this isn't the case. The video game company's stock dropped by 5.9 percent and ended at an all time seven-month low. Head on over to the full article for more on this.

Thanks to a surge in DS and Wii earnings, Nintendo has pulled ahead of three other Japanese companies to become Japan's fifth-biggest company in terms of market value.

According to Reuters, Nintendo's market value now stands at 8.69 trillion yen (US$72 billion). The Kyoto-based company's stock climbed a total of 11.6 percent after the company's earnings announcement. This put them on top of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, telecoms giant NTT,  and Honda Motor Co. in the list of Japan's biggest companies.

Nintendo has raised its operating profit forecast to 370 billion yen (US$ 3.1 billion) for the year until March 2008. The company has also lifted its annual dividend forecast to 960 yen (US$ 8). Earlier estimates have put it at 700 yen (US$ 5.9).

 

Okay, this may cause some alarmists to scream "Big Brother!" so before all the speculation, here are the known details - just so all you privacy advocates can relax a bit.

Google has filed a patent that reveals that they plan to compile psychological profiles of millions of gamers by covertly monitoring the way they play online games. Now you may think that this only concerns folks who play MMOs on their PCs, however, the patent apparently says that Google can also monitor people playing on any game console that hooks up to the internet, including the Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, and Microsoft Xbox 360.

What's even more hair-raising is that it says that information could be retrieved from previous game details saved on memory cards. To quote: "Such saved information may be thought of state information, and offers a valuable source of information to the advertisers." Yes, if you've played 350 hours of Oblivion, they'll know. Yep, the patent is that creepy; it even says:

In a car racing game, after a user crashes his Honda Civic, an announcer could be used to advertise by saying 'if he had a Hummer, he would have gotten the better of that altercation', etc... If the user has been playing for over two hours continuously, the system may display ads for Pizza Hut, Coke, coffee.

Now here's why we're asking all those privacy advocates to calm down and not cry foul. Google has said that they do not plan to roll out the technology in the near future. They say that it was just one of the patents that they wanted to file. The Guardian reports that a Google spokesman had this to say: "Google registers different patents irrespective of whether we actually intend to use them."

So no, Big Brother, er, I mean, Google isn't watching you. Not yet. *insert cheesy B-movie sci-fi music* It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you.

What's so special about the GT Pro Series aside from the fast cars, cel-shaded style, stunning graphics and gameplay? Well, it's the very first to have a Wiimote peripheral that's not developed by Nintendo and specifically designed for the game: the steering wheel. BUT before we get into that, let's go over some of the other important game details via IGN's interview with Tats Myoio, Associate Producer of the GT Pro Series, shall we?

Gameplay Modes:

Championship mode - the classic one where you race with others to get to higher levels and get to unlock cars, parts, and tracks. You may have to use specific cars for some of the series.

Quick Race - as the name implies, just go out into the track and race any unlocked car of your choice.

Time Attack - race without competition with the option of creating a ghost and racing against it.

Versus mode - allows you and three of your friends to race on the same track via split-screen.

Drift mode - similar to Time Attack but with the goal of creating as much drift combinations as you can.

Replay - you can save and view any of your races.

Cars, Cars, Cars: Cars in the lineup are all Japan-made: ASL, Daihatsu, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Mitsuoka, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota. The game will also have Skyline R34 GT-R, RX-7 and Lancer Evolution, as well as a wide variety of cars from exotics to minivans. There will also be 11 different upgrades to customize and enhance the looks and performance of every car.

GT Pro Series as a Drift Racer?: Tats Myoio says nope, because you won't be forced to drift race, it's only an option in the game. The Drift Mode requires you to make as many drift combos as possible but it's not required in completing the game. In this sense, Tats says that GT Pro Series is designed to please both drifters and non-drifters.

And finally, the steering wheel attachment and where it can be used: Thrustmaster designed the steering wheel wherein the Wiimote will fit horizontally with all the buttons made accessible. Tilting the wheel will also tilt the wiimote and the steering wheel further adds to the whole driving experience of gamers. Aside from GT Pro, the wheel will also be compatible with another Ubisoft Wii title, Monster 4x4: World Circuit. IGN also notes that Excite Truck, Cars, and the racing portions of Sponge Bob will work with the wheel attachment.

What GT Pro Series won't have/support: Unfortunately, there will be no progressive-scan feature in the game as well as online features. What the game will have though, is the multiplayer mode on one console. As for the WiiConnect24 download service, Tats did not confirm anything about GT Pro making use of the service for downloadable contents.