Nintendo is in cloud nine these days. The DS and Wii consoles are enjoying record breaking sales. Then here comes the news that the patent lawsuit filed by Fenner Investments against Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft has been dismissed by the courts.

The firm claimed that Nintendo has breached their 1998 patent with regards to the monitoring of the position of analog joysticks in the GameCube and Wii. Right from the start the lawsuit is kind of shady. To start with, Nintendo has started using analog joysticks since the N64, which came out in 1994. That’s two years before Fenner Investment’s patent.

With one lawsuit out of the way, Nintendo lawyers can focus on other lawsuits. One such patent lawsuit involves Wall Wireless LLC’s Method and Apparatus for Creating and Distributing Real-Time Interactive Media Content Through Wireless Communication Networks and the Internet. The long patent title simply relates to someone or something that sends messages having aural or visual content that is generated by the operator using handheld apparatuses such as mobile telephones.

Companies try to capitalize on other more successful companies by suing them over trivial things. Nintendo is an easy target because of the success it is enjoying these days.

After cooking, Mama wants to try her hands at gardening. Every casual gamer’s favorite chef will get her hands dirty while planting flowers, vegetables and fruits in the new Gardening Mama game for the Nintendo DS.

Gardening Mama will transform the DS stylus into a gardening tool that will be used to plant, nurture, and harvest different types of plants. Players will manage their gardens through each phase. You need to do a lot of caring for the plants to produce good quality items.

There’s a multiplayer mode wherein friends compete to grow the biggest harvest among them. Then there’s the Treasure Box mode that lets the players share their produce to their friends via the DS Wi-Fi. Gamers can also customize Mama’s clothes and screen design.

Gardening Mama is fresh take on the Cooking Mama. It will ship just in time for spring. Expect more gardening games to come out. Oh wait, I forgot about Harvest Moon but I do think that Gardening Mama’s gameplay will be different from Harvest Moon.

Gran Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is already out in the market today but some gamers have already been enjoying the game for a week now. Someone got hold of an advance copy and shared it over a few torrent sites.

Rockstar, one of the staunchest enemies of piracy, has placed added protection on Chinatown Wars that prevents it to be played on flash carts. Pirates managed to figure out this layer of security and released a crack version of the game.

It makes me wonder sometimes why game publishers such as Rockstar still bother with anti-piracy measures. Well it’s the same company that placed DRM on its Gran Theft Auto IV PC game. I know they they’re just protecting their profits but if gamers really want to play their game, they’ll buy it. No need to place added security when in just hours after release pirates can crack it.

Gran Theft Auto is a good game and piracy can hurt the Rockstar. You could download the game to try it out first. If you like the game, buy it. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas cheat and codes PS2.

Ubisoft can’t think of anything catchy and simply named it as Grey’s Anatomy: The Video Game. It would be available for the Wii and DS. Based on the television series, The Video Game gives the fans a chance to be part of the cast of the number one drama series in TV.

The Video Game takes place in Seattle Grace Hospital in the time when the hospital faces a crisis. Players would have to make some personal and professional decisions that can have an impact on the outcome of the game.

Being a medical game, players will have the chance to perform delicate surgeries using the Wiimote or the DS’ stylus. The storyline is written in collaboration with the TV series’ writers to give it feel like you’re part of the series’ cast.

The Video Game is already out in the market.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 3 egyptian god cards are fun, but there are new stuff coming. Two separate Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D games are in development for the Wii and the DS. The games are based on the new Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D series that takes in the future. It features two of the hottest duelist in Neo Domino City, Jack Atlus and Yusei Fudo.

Unlike previous Yu-Gi-Oh! Games, the Wii’s Wheelie Breakers combines card dueling with racing. The players use the Wiimote during card duels and Duel Runner races. The Nunchuks can be used for races to have precise maneuvering, acceleration, recovery and steering. There are three game modes to choose from, which are Grand Prix, Story mode, and Competition multiplayer where up to four players can race in split screen.

The DS’ Stardust Accelerator: World Championship 2009 might be the best yet in the World Championship franchise with 2,800 playable cards. It features a story mode where the player duels various characters from the animated series. Or you could your skills battling other Yu-Gi-Oh players from around the world in the World Championship mode.

New cards, characters and gameplay is what’s in store for Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D games. This could mean lots of trading and dueling to last until the next game of the series comes.

THQ’s Heavy Iron Studios is working on a video game for Pixar’s Up, an animated movie that is set to be released on May 29 this year. Heavy Iron Studios has also made video games based on WALL-E and Ratatouille.

Up the game will be available in seven consoles including the DS and the Wii. The game takes the players on an entertaining adventure with characters straight out of the animated movie. This includes Carl Fredricksen, who transports his house to South Africa using dozens of balloons. Joining him in the adventure is his sidekick, Wilderness Explorer Russell.

Not much is known about the game yet but it sounds like an adventure action game. Up might not be enjoying much hype today but once May comes, expect the young ones to be raving about the movie and the game as well. Up, up and away!

Check out the demo version of TrackMania DS on the Nintendo Channel. The full game is slated to be out on March 17. Wii users can download the demo version of the upcoming fast-paced racing game for the DS.

The TrackMania DS demo would be available for a limited time over the Nintendo Channel. Racing fans can enjoy its unique style and unlimited replay value. There are three tracks included in the demo version to give you the feel of what’s in store once the full version comes.

The full TrackMania DS would have over 100 tracks that are placed in three environments, which are Desert, Stadium, and Rally. It would also include game modes and you can design your own track. I loved that feature on Excite Bike before and I do think that would be a good thing for the TrackMania. Not that I’m saying that TrackMania is like Excite Bike. The tracks can be shared via a local Wi-Fi network and race on these tracks with friends.

Critical critics, Streetfighter, a boy’s blob, and a publisher’s dirt in this week’s Nintendo news roundup.

Looking for the Good
The writer talks about the Wii and how it is changing the way people look at gaming. I agree with him that there are lots of good games in the Wii but people are not trying hard enough to look for them.

Know Your Role
Here is another article about the state of gaming these days. The author talks about how hardcore gamers are complaining about the lack of good games on the Wii but still the Wii games remain on top of the charts list.

“Street Fighter IV” tops ‘Hit List’
According to Blockbuster Street Fight IV is the top selling game today. The PS3 version is number one followed by the Xbox360 version. Number three is Mario Kart for the Wii. Street Fighter profiles.

A Boy and His Blob Resurrected
The Boy and His Blob was cancelled for the DS but later this year it would finally be released and this time it will be on the Wii. The hand drawn game will be out this fall.

Codemasters: Quality Games for Wii
Codemasters are not only working on a sequel of DIRT but promised to deliver other games to entertain gamers. DIRT for the Wii would not be a Mario Kart knockoff.

Losers, the new old console, piracy and online stores in this week’s Nintendo news roundup.

Sackboy to the rescue?
The writer talks about how the PSP is coping up with the DS’ success. Sony is saying that 2009 will be a big year for the portable console. Hope that they live up to that promise.

Nintendo DSi: the ultimate lifestyle accessory?
More hype about the April release of the DSi. The article basically talks about the DSi’s features. Be sure to reserve one before the third of April.

PS3 price drop and a new PSP?
There are talks of Sony coming out with a new PS3 console that would not play Blue-ray. That would significantly drop its price but then again is it new or just a newly packaged PS2?

Nintendo points finger at pirate countries, asks for help
Nintendo has asked the global armada’s help in their fight against pirates. Nintendo has listed Korea, China, Mexico, Spain, Paraguay and Brazil as the countries with large concentration of pirating activities.

Nintendo brings gamers together, Keeps systems apart
With the arrival of the DSi comes DSiWare. This is separate from the WiiWare. The writer asks why Nintendo made a separate system instead of incorporating the new one with the existing WiiWare store.

I spend more time with the DS than the Wii. This portable gaming console is my companion whenever I commute or while waiting in line. Your idle time would pass like a breeze with a DS at hand. But the time has come for me to part ways with my DS.

April 5 marks the end of the DS era. This should be marked in your calendars as date the DS Lite would become obsolete. The DSi is 10 times cooler and better than your current DS. If you want to know why then continue on reading.

Two is Better Than One

The DSi comes with two built in cameras. This is a feature not found in the previous DS versions. It also comes with software that lets you manipulate the photo taken with the portable console. Some games in the near future would use the camera as an input device. It would be another gaming experience to look forward to.

Sounds Solid

The DSi features the Nintendo Sound Application which lets users record audio and play black music with it. The means you can use the DSi to play music saved in a SD card. It would play even if the cover is closed. That’s making your DSi into a portable music player as well.

Download Fun

The DSi will have its version of Wiiware with DSiware. If you have accumulated enough DSi Points, you’ll be able to download applications and games directly to your portable console. That means you have access to new games and contents in an instant.

Retro Games

For those of you who have a huge catalog of DS games then you’ll be glad to know that the DSi is compatible with most of the DS games ever made. That means that you don’t even have to buy new ones and play your old favorite games with the DSi.

The DSi is a new and improved version of the DS portable console. It is a little bit thinner and loaded with new features that gamers would enjoy. These are just four reasons why you should trade in your old DS for a DSi.