Unless you've been living under an extremely large rock, you will have noticed Nintendo uses famous celebrities to advertise its DS and Wii consoles, ranging from Hollywood greats such as Nicole Kidman, through to home grown music stars Girls Aloud, and even Tottenham Hotspurs coach Harry Redknapp, and family.

There's been some interesting movement in the UK charts lately, which has fortunately seen us past the Wii Fit mania that gripped the UK chart for seven consecutive weeks. We've had UFC Undisputed, The Sims 3, and most recently Prototype steal the number one spot.

Despite all the glitz and glamour attached to how a game looks, it's not all about the eye candy when it comes to creating a great game. What good is particle effect, lens flare, super shiny texture bump mapping, kitchen sink graphics if the enemy players merely stand there and take your volley of bullets without so much as blinking an eyelid?

As if yesterday's news of a Monster Hunter PSP bundle wasn't enough to get your hunter juices flowing, Capcom has announced that it is setting up a dedicated Monster Hunter centre in the heart of London, called The Gathering Hall.

The Monster Hunter franchise is more than just a game in Japan, it's a phenomenon. The series launched its first title Monster Hunter on the PS2 back in 2005, and since then Japan has been lapping up everything to do with Monster Hunter such as books, Manga, clothing, even its own store. The most recent release, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is a mainstay in the Japanese charts, with the series achieving worldwide sales of over 8 million copies.

The world's biggest games expo is back for another year. That's right, E3 2009 is upon us yet again. After trimming down to a leaner, smaller event over the last two years, the gargantuan E3 of old is back, complete with a massive expo floor. Guy, Mark and Luke have chimed in to give you an idea of what they're looking forward to seeing this week.

Despite reports this morning that the next Tony Hawk game was going to be an Xbox 360 exclusive in the UK, Tony Hawk Ride is going to be coming to the PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360 in the UK--as with the rest of the world--Activision has said.

"Further to the erroneous information which was distributed this morning regarding Tony Hawk: RIDE, we would like to clarify that the game is due to be released on the following platforms: Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Wii home video game system.

"We apologise for the confusion caused by this morning's mail out and we would be grateful if you could update your coverage to reflect the correct details above," the publisher said in a statement.

When asked for clarification on the initial announcement, Activision indicated that it was to be disregarded in its entirety, indicating that no deal on any exclusivity had been reached. No information other than the above statement was offered.

While it is possible that a deal regarding timed exclusivity has been reached between Microsoft and Activision, and that this was at the heart of the day's confusion, the publisher would not be drawn on the matter, simply referring us back to the above statement--which makes no mention of release dates.

Keep it tuned to GameSpot for more information on this matter as it emerges, if indeed it does...

If you've managed to follow the UK sales charts over the past couple of weeks without managing to pass out from boredom, then have we got some exciting news for you! Wii Fit is number one, again!


Wii Fit's ultimate goal of training a league of Nintendo-pedaling super heroes was almost complete.

Fancy going the distance against a real-life champ, Rocky-style? Well if you're in Central London next weekend you could be in luck. Nintendo UK has teamed up with former world light heavyweight boxing champion Joe Calzaghe to promote Punch-Out for Wii, and you can go up against him for a round at HMV Oxford Street.

Calzaghe is making a special in-store appearance at HMV's flagship store on Sunday May 24. The Italian Dragon will go head-to-head against the public on the store's main stage, and will later be available to meet fans and sign copies of the game.

Speaking about the game, Calzaghe said in a statement "Punch-Out is great fun and it felt like I was back in the boxing ring. The controls feel really natural, and throwing punches with the Wii remote really connected with the different fighters in the game. I was an undefeated former world boxing champion before I met my son on Punch-Out. He's the new undefeated Punch-Out champion now in our family."

As part of his promotional deal alongside the game, the Pride of Wales will appear in TV commercials with his son Joe Jr. for the game, due out on May 22. The event kicks off at 11:30am next Sunday, however to gain entry--due to the expected popularity of the event--HMV will be issuing wristbands on a first come first serve basis from 10:30am on the day.