On an annual basis the Casual Games Association (CGS), releases a report which outlines trends and shifts in the casual games industry. The 2007 Casual Games Report has revealed that the games industry has more offerings, increased investments and a general shift toward retail and online games by consumers. This is great news and suggests that the casual games industry has experienced strong growth which continues to steadily rise.

The 2007 Casual Games Report indicated that women still make up the majority (74%) of all paying players online while men take up about half of the non-paying gaming world, which is much larger. Competition has also increased in what is a dynamic market, meaning more and better gaming offers for consumers.

The number of titles being submitted has actually doubled over the last two years, as there has been an increase in publishers developing new games. I have noticed this trend evolve via the world wide web, where numerous websites cater to the casual gaming audience and also on consoles such as Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation 3, where casual gaming continues to grow via their online services.

The finding also revealed that over the past year, investors spent in excess of $200 million to gain interest in casual games industry assets. This strong interest in new capital investment had particularly widened in the MMO market with $35+ million invested in that casual games field alone.

The 2006 report found that the most popular casual games available were Diner Dash, Bejeweled, Cakemania, Slingo and Mystery Case Files.

Uncharted is one of my most anticipated games to come. We were introduced to the game over a year ago when it was an untitled project, however the first trailer left many including myself wanting to see more. Recently this year the games developer, Naughty Dog (creators of Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter) named the game as Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.

The story takes place with central character Nathan Drake, a modern-day fortune hunter. Drake along with companions set out to explore for the fabled treasure of El Dorado, which happens to lead them to an undiscovered island somewhere in the pacific ocean.

Drake and comrades quickly learn that the island is covered by deadly mercenaries. They must fight for their lives as they journey deeper into the island to uncover the hidden secrets.

Now I have watched the trailers and looked at the screenshots for Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, and I can tell you that this is one game to look out for. Visually the game is looking amazing, with stunning environments set in a lush and vibrant jungle. The character models are excellent and although the developers at Naughty Dog haven’t applied all that much texturing, the character models look amazing. The gameplay appears very fluid and there are some very interesting combat elements as previewed in the trailers.

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is ultimately a third person action/adventure game which is similar to a cross between Tomb Raider and Far Cry. So you can expect a lot of jumping, shooting and action scenes. This game definitely deserves to go on anyone’s wanted list – It’s already on mine!

Peter Moore has officially resigned from Microsoft Corporation. Taking over is former Vice President of Elelctronic Arts. (EA), Don Mattrick. Mattrick will assume the role of senior vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business (IEB) at Microsoft. Peter Moore has labeled the decision to resign as a personal choice, wanting to ‘move his family back to the bay area’. He has however secured another lucrative position in the video games industry.

Don Mattrick is the founder of private company Distinctive Software Inc., which merged with EA in 1991. Since this period, Mattrick had held numerous senior positions at EA, and his more recent role as president at Worldwide Studios, where Mattrick resigned in February 2006. Since this time he has been operating as an external advisor for Microsoft.

The president of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft, Robbie Bach, had this to say:

“Peter has contributed enormously to the games business since joining Microsoft in 2003 and we are sad to see him go, since that time, he presided over the global launch of the Xbox 360™, spearheaded a revitalized and rebranded Games for Windows business, and helped steer the console’s ascent.”

For the time being, Moore will remain at Microsoft through the transitional period, until the end of August where he will return to the San Francisco Bay area with his family. Mattrick, who has 23 years of experience in the gaming industry, will take full control of his position from that point in.

Mattrick had the following to say about the situation:

“Over the past two decades, and the past few months in particular, I’ve worked closely with many of Microsoft’s top leaders and I’ve always been impressed by their talent, passion and commitment… I’m thrilled to join an already strong team that’s delivering truly amazing gaming experiences to customers around the world. I’ve never been more excited about the future of the industry, and firmly believe Microsoft will lead the next great innovations in gaming.”

How this move will affect Microsoft’s gaming division is yet to be seen.

Recently, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe announced its plans to release the Playstation 3 Starter Pack in Europe. The pack represents high value for money including the console system, 2 SIXAXIS wireless controllers and 2 first party games, set to retail at £425.

The selection of first party games is dependent of the entertainment interests in the region where it will be sold and includes titles such as Resistance Fall of Man and MotorStorm.  This provides a great opportunity for those who purchase the system to test out the stunning graphics and gameplay that the PlayStation 3 hardware  allows.

The addition of the SIXAXIS wireless controller is also great news as it allows for multiplayer action, straight out of the box, in the gamers home. The Playstation 3 Starter Pack will be available in the UK from 18^th July and all other European territories from 1^st August.  The question is; will this pack push the sales of PS3 units in Europe? The reality is that it is very like to increase sales as the overall pack does represent value for money.

Microsoft offered a very similar deal some time back with their Xbox 360. Microsoft’s package included 2 games, an additional wireless controller and Live starter pack. It does seem that Sony is employing a similar strategy to Microsoft in order to gain greater market share. Personally I am very interested to see how Microsoft responds to this over the coming months.

Polyphony Digital has announced Gran Turismo 5 Prologue as a lead up to the much anticipated Gran Turismo 5. The developer recently released Gran Turismo: High Definition for the PlayStation 3 as a download. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue will however for the first time show the true potential of the racing simulator as it uses the full power of the Playstation 3 hardware. A new trailer and screenshots were of course released at E3 and from what I have seen it’s looking quite nice.

Award winning Developer Crytek is set to bring gamers their next gen shooter Crysis. You may remember Crytek’s previous hit game Far Cry. This time the developer giant is adopting a similar style of game to Far Cry but taking it to the next level. From the on-set we should expect great visuals, excellent physics, an epic story and refined gameplay.

The plot in short, is centered around the discovery of mysterious artifacts by a team of U.S. archeologists. The North Korean government learns of this quickly only to seize the area. This forces the U.S. to send a team of Special Forces on a rescue mission. During this time it is uncovered that the mysterious artifact is connected to an alien presence on Earth and this ultimately leads to an alien invasion.

The game extends into an all out battle with an alien species. Players will also experience high tech gear including nanosuits and customizable weapons. The game takes place in the pacific, so expect to see a lot of water and lush greenery very similar to Far Cry. What’s more interesting is that this game is being created using Crytek’s own, CryENGINE 2, which utilizes DX10 technology and opens the way for stunning visuals and effects.

Crysis is looking amazing, but best to upgrade your rig to prepare for this game.

Nintendo’s Wii is bringing something different to the world of gaming and our lounge rooms.  The combination of the Wii Remote and Wii Sports allowed gamers to swing golf clubs and smash tennis balls safely in the home. Nintendo is taking this the next level by turning the living room into a fitness center.

The new Wii Fit and Wii Balance Board will create an interactive experience which the whole family can benefit from. If you have been searching for something that can give you a workout while having fun at the same time then this could be for you.

Wii Fitness will offer the following features:

• Users can lean side-to-side in order to block soccer balls or swivel their hips to power hoop twirls or balance to hold the ideal yoga stance. A users overall balance is an important part of the game and adds to the overall experience.

• Wii Fitness makes use of the balance board and performs many test on a daily basis. Using the balance board users can measure key health indicators such as Body Mass Index (BMI).

• Wii Fitness includes more than 40 types of training activities designed to appeal to both genders and people of all ages. Training falls into four fitness categories: Aerobic Exercise, Muscle Conditioning, Yoga Poses and Balance Games.

Be sure to keep an eye out for this one.

At E3 2005, Guerrilla Games released a trailer of what was claimed to be the next installment of Killzone. The trailer was shown at the same show where Sony Computer Entertainment, for the first time unveiled the PlayStation 3 console. The Killzone trailer of 2005 was very impressive but raised the eyebrows of many gamers who considered the graphics previewed in the trailer to be unachievable even with the powerful hardware of the PS3. Skeptics labeled the trailer as ‘pre-rendered’ and Guerrilla Games had very little to comment on this. Two years have passed and Guerrilla Games had since released no new images or video until now at E3 2007.

The new trailer begins in a very similar fashion as the original and if you have seen the Killzone E3 2005 trailer you will definitely see the familiarity. I have watched the trailer and I can say that while impressive in its own right, graphically it does not live up to the original trailer. This shouldn’t surprise gamers as we have generally seen the capabilities of the PS3 which has ever since led me to believe that the target render of 2005 was quite frankly ‘overboard’.

The story itself takes place two years after the Helghast assault on Vekta. This time the ISA is entering their enemy’s homeland of Helghan to capture Emperor Visari and bring an end to the war. The player will assume the role of Sev, a highly trained soldier of the special forces unit – Legion. Sev is accompanied by a squad who in turn must work together to power their way through the planets hostile conditions and the enemy forces which stand in their way.

The atmosphere of the game is overall dark and moody. There is also what appears to be an electrical storm circulating through the air. This is visible in the trailer as electricity constantly sparks throughout the sky. Could this be the planets hostile conditions? Game play wise, Killzone 2 is reminding me of Gears of War on the Xbox 360. With the exception of being a first person shooter (FPS), Killzone 2 seems to have that ‘hide & shoot’ element of game play that was prevalent in Gears of War.

I expect Guerrilla Games to release more juicy images and trailers from this point in.

Sony has announced a new Slimmer and lighter version of the PSP to be released worldwide in September. The new enhanced design is more steam line and features an all new video-out port for added connectivity.

By comparison the new model the new model PSP is 33 per cent lighter and 19 per cent slimmer than the original version.  The new model weighs is at approximately 189g compared to 280g of the original. In terms of the thickness, you will find that the new model is overall approximately 5mm thinner.  These new dimensions will make this all-in-one entertainment unit even more attractive to gamers.

The addition of a video-out port will enable users of the PSP to connect their portable gaming device to a television. This means that gamers will finally be able to experience their high quality UMD movies, pictures or music videos on a larger screen. The new PSP will also feature an enhanced memory system which allows temporary storage data from a UMD which is set to improve load times.

Yes, there is more. The new PSP system is designed to charge when connected, via USB cable, to a Playstation 3 or PC which is really a great feature which fans of the system have been waiting for.  Upon launch, the new PSP will be available in three colors namely ‘ceramic white’, ‘piano black’ and the new addition, ‘ice silver’.

The third installment of Halo continues with lead runner Master Chief, a genetically altered, cybernetically enhanced Spartan supersoldier whose mission is to return to Earth to prevent the covenant from taking over all of mankind. Master Chief is a warrior born and bred for war and as the last of his kind, is humanities last hope for salvation.

Halo 3 is set to release exclusive to the Xbox 360. Images and video footage of this epic game are showing what is to be a promising title not only for existing fans but potential new comers to the game. Graphically speaking Halo 3 isn’t jaw dropping, however when considering the large open environments and online capabilities of this game - it’s quite exciting. Needless to say Halo 3 will feature all the next gen visual that you would expect including High Dynamic Range (HDR) Lighting as well as enhanced A.I. along with in depth statistic tracking and much more.

Halo 3 is set to release for worldwide release on September 25, 2007. If you own an Xbox 360, I highly recommend that you check this one out on release. If you don’t own an Xbox 360, then perhaps you should consider purchasing one to experience what I expect to be an excellent game. Lets hope Bungie Studios delivers with Halo 3.