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Like this, but on wheels
New board, new surfaces to fall down, same unkempt Olympian. Ubisoft has just announced a new Shaun White game that's all about ... skateboarding? Shaun White Skateboarding is being released on unspecified platforms this holiday season. The Wii seems likely, since the first Shaun White Snowboarding game was such a hit on that platform and the follow-up was a Wii exclusive.

Because we're absolutely tuned in to popular culture, especially extreme sports, we were totally familiar with Shaun White's dual careers in both snowboarding and skateboarding. In case you aren't as well-versed in Mr. White's achievements as we definitely were, Ubisoft notes in the press release that he is "the first athlete to win both gold medals in skateboarding and snowboarding at the Summer and Winter X Games." That's right. They give out medals in the X Games.

Almost every post on Joystiq about Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage has been met with cries for a new SSX game, but this launch trailer for Ubisoft's upcoming game actually does a good job of mimicking the EA series' over-the-top X-TREME thrills. Sure, there's manufactured virtual pals to laugh at and stereotypical caricatures of foreigners from countries you never bothered to learn about in there, but the warm, nougety center of snowboarding goodness seems warm and inviting enough.

Also, what's with that logo? Why is Shaun White's hair the dot on the "i?" If we were him, we'd try to steer as far away from being associated with that other red-headed dude as possible. We'd also be too rich to blog for you people.

Another Tuesday, more games for Xbox Live's Games on Demand service. This week, two new titles have been added, Shaun White Snowboarding and Command & Conquer 3. Shaun White is available everywhere except Canada, Japan and Korea, while Command & Conquer 3 is only available in -- deep breath -- Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and United Kingdom. As usual, pricing varies by region (Shaun White is $29.99 in the US). Check the links below to see the price for your region.

Shortcut: Xbox Live Marketplace: Shaun White Snowboarding
Shortcut: Xbox Live Marketplace: Command & Conquer 3

[Via Major Nelson]

Ubisoft just sent us a new trailer for Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage and, as those powder-carving kids would say, it's totally tubular. It reminds us of a time when snowboarding games were, uh, fun (oh, how we miss you, SSX). If this wasn't on your radar before this post, we're sure that's going to change for a few of you after checking out the action above. Enjoy.

Ubisoft has announced that its sequel to last year's multiplatform Shaun White Snowboarding is coming exclusively to Wii. Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage is being developed by Ubisoft Montreal and is planned for a holiday 2009 release.

The move to a single-platform release may seem surprising, but it's made less so when you consider that the Wii version of the first game outsold other versions by nearly a 2:1 margin. We've contacted Ubisoft for comment on the decision and to clarify whether or not this news marks a full-stop for the franchise on other platforms. In the meantime, start waxing those balance boards.

Ubisoft announced its financial results (PDF link) for fiscal 2008 (which ended on March 31, 2009), and for the most part news (or Newz, if you prefer) is good. Full-year sales for 2008 grew to €1.058 billion, up 14% over last year's €928 million total.

The company explained the strong results of its last quarter with "a continued very strong showing" for its Wii lineup, including Raving Rabbids TV Party, Shaun White Snowboarding Road Trip, and My Fitness Coach. One million units each of Shaun White (not just limited to the Wii version), Tom Clancy's HAWX and the Petz and Imagine games were shipped to retailers in Q4.

Ubisoft's sales target for the 2009 fiscal year is €1.1 billion. It expects the first quarter sales of 2009 to be weaker than 2008's, due to the relative lack of major releases (Q1 2008 included Haze and Assassin's Creed on PC), with growth to occur in the second half of the year.

Source (PDF document)

Through a partnership with TransGaming Inc., Ubisoft is poised to bring select titles to Mac gamers (yes, we repeat: "Mac gamers") through retail and digital download channels. The two most significant offerings will be Prince of Persia and Shaun White Snowboarding, although Ubisoft will also provide CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Hard Evidence, Rayman Raving Rabbids and Petz Sports to retail locations for the first time. Those games are currently only available through Ubisoft's website.

You can download Prince of Persia and Shaun White Snowboarding for Mac from Ubisoft's site (and look for the other games on retail shelves) next month.

After complaining about the first round of expensive Shaun White Snowboarding DLC, Ubisoft took our "constructive criticism" and just released a fresh batch of free content. Or at least we like to think our complaining convinced them to release free content ... no matter.

SW Snowboarding's The Freebie Pack and all its 16MB glory is now available for download off the XBLM. This free content is comprised of a few new pieces of apparel and some freshly decorated snowboard skins there were created by the community. Free content is always good. Much thanks Flying Tomato!

[Via Major Nelson]

Target is having a sale where key Wii titles will be discounted. As you can see above, qualifying titles include Shaun White Snowboarding, Animal Crossing: City Folk, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. If you didn't get check any of these titles out, but wanted to, now might be the time to head on over to your local Target store. Also, we're not sure if the sale price on Madden 09 applies to just the Xbox 360 version, or all versions of the game, so keep that in mind if you're thinking about throwing the virtual pigskin around.

It's no secret that Ubisoft has high hopes for Shaun White Snowboarding. The company said it expects the game to sell a million copies and, so far, the game is flying off retail shelves faster than scrumptious hotcakes, unloading 259,000 copies in the U.S. across the various platforms in November alone (generating $13.6 million for Ubisoft). We'd also like to point out that 40% of that figure is Wii sales.

Ubisoft has liked the reception, apparently, as a sequel to the game is already underway, Shaun White confirmed. "Now that I have the knowledge and I can speak to programmers better and I understand a lot more about what's possible and what's not possible, this will all help with the next game," he said.

So, how many of you picked it up? What kind of additions or changes would you like to see in the next game?

The biggest competition for a third-party developer on Wii is, obviously, Nintendo. But, that doesn't mean it's hopeless. Ubisoft is just one of the third-party developers that have found success on the console. How? Through strategic and careful planning.

"We saw that at the end of this year, there were not so many Nintendo products, and we thought there was a window of opportunity," said Ubisoft CFO Alain Martinez at the UBS Global Media Conference this week. "I believe to date, Nintendo is about 30-35 percent market share. So that means if you are aggressive, and if you come up with the right products, you can gain market share there." Because of this, the company expects Shaun White Snowboarding and Raving Rabbids TV Party to sell 1 million and 1.5 million units each, respectively.

It's not like Nintendo is making it so that third parties need to wait for the stars and planets to align, however. "Nintendo is surely not making it impossible for people to make good games [on its systems]," Martinez added. "They've been helping us make games. So it's up to us."

Of course, this isn't to say that Ubisoft has had nothing but luck with the Wii. They've tried to pile some stinkers on us in the past. But, monkey see, monkey do. The more successful third-party developers are on Wii, the more it attracts others to reach for their own slice of that pie.

You've read the headline and you're probably thinking, "Oh, great. Just what we need. Another article effusing praise for Left 4 Dead. Thanks. Thank you so much." In truth, yes, we're excited that Left 4 Dead is coming out this week, but the reality of the headline is best understood by glancing at the list below. There are twelve, twelve new games being released this week. If that's not enough to metamorphose every respectable gamer into a gibbering, cash-starved zombie, we're not sure what is. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have suddenly developed an irresistible craving for braaains gaaames.

• Left 4 Dead
• The Last Remnant
• Shaun White Snowboarding
• Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
• You're in the Movies with Camera
• Tomb Raider Underworld
• NPPL Championship Paintball 2009
• LIPS
• Karaoke Revolution: American Idol 2
• Disney's Bolt
• Sonic Unleashed
• Need For Speed: Undercover

The question has been on everybody's lips since Cammie Dunaway shed her shoes and opened Nintendo's E3 press conference with Shaun White Snowboarding: can the Balance Board provide a notable leap forward for the snowboarding genre? IGN has a comparison of the PS3/360 and Wii versions of Ubisoft's snowboarding title, but if you're too lazy to read, the short answer is: no.

At least, not in Shaun White Snowboarding. While IGN concedes using the Balance Board is "great fun carving down the slopes and doing spins off jumps," it ultimately "feels like a severely pared back snowboarding experience." In fact, Shaun White on Wii didn't impress IGN much at all, tying only one category (visuals/presentation) and losing the other four. Disappointing, because we know the Balance Board has tons of potential for this kind of thing.