EA Maxis' sim-evolution game Spore (PC) has been named as Time magazine's 20th best invention of 2008, with the publication referred to it as "the everything game."

Writes Time:

It's blasphemy, brilliance or both to take the entire evolution of a species--from a single-celled animalcule in a drop of water to a space-faring, galaxy-exploring sentient being--and turn it into a video game. But that's exactly what Will Wright has done. Wright is the man who created The Sims, a game about everyday life in suburbia, but apparently he found the vast panorama of human experience too confining, because he then spent seven years creating Spore, in which players design their own life-form and then manage every aspect of its progress through the centuries, from savagery to civilization.

For reference, the best invention of 2008 was awarded to 23andMe's retail DNA test, which came to the market care of co-founders Linda Avey and Anne Wojcicki. By the way, Wojcicki is the wife of Google technology president Sergey Brin.

Meanwhile, Nintendo's Wii Fit is listed among Time's Top 10 Gadgets of 2008, with the publication asking readers to vote for device that deserves "Gadget of the Year."

Speaking at Microsoft's GameFest UK keynote, Xbox Europe VP David Gosen claimed that some 60% of Wii Fit owners played Nintendo's fitness-oriented, balance board-equipped title once and shelved it soon thereafter, noting that developers should be wary of pushing gimmicks in the place of solid gameplay.

"We've seen some research that says 60 percent of people who bought a Wii Fit play it once and don't play it again. So we have to get the balance right, because what we are doing is bringing new consumers into the market for the first time in their lives sometimes—and we have to treat them with respect," Gosen told attendees.

The executive later expanded on his comments, telling Develop that "what Nintendo have done with the Wii is truly fantastic—there is no question about it. But I think sometimes there is a thin line between gimmick and great gameplay."

The runaway success of Nintendo's motion-centric Wii console has prompted many software and hardware developers to look into motion-sensing control... Read more

Nintendo has slightly delayed this week's release of Wii Fit, nudging the title from two days past its announced debut on Monday, May 19.

Though Nintendo launched the game at New York's Nintendo World Store yesterday (pictured left), the rest of the North America has to wait until Wednesday, May 21 to get its hands and feet on the $89.99 fitness game and its weight-sensitive balance board.

No reason was provided for the delay, though Shacknews can confirm that many retailers already have the much-anticipated fitness title sitting in their backrooms.

Publisher Electronic Arts is looking into the development of a Wii fitness game, Eurogamer reports.

Speaking at an event, EA Sports president Peter Moore remarked on the opportunities created by Nintendo's Wii Fit, already launched overseas and aimed for release in North America on May 19.

"We're watching very closely what the Wii Fit board does," Moore said. "We think we have to have a role to play with that mum—the kids have gone to school, she's got 45 minutes on her own, the Wii is there, it's the first console she's ever liked because she can do things herself. And we're working on stuff, trying to work out how we can use EA Sports applications there."

But Moore noted that if EA were to create a Wii fitness title, the exercise activities offered therein would be tailored for Western audiences and geared towards more active workouts than Nintendo's Wii Fit.

"I don't think the [Wii Balance Board] is going to take a pounding," he added. "We need to look more at western fitness in which I can actually be moving and start to sweat a little bit, and that's what we're working on right now."

New financial documents released by Nintendo have revealed that the company's Wii console has sold 24.45 million units worldwide since its 2006 release, with the handheld Nintendo DS selling 70.6 million units worldwide since its debut in 2004.

Of those figures, 18.61 million Wii and 30.31 million DS systems were sold in the company's 2008 fiscal year, which ran from April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008.

Due to strong hardware and software sales in the 2008 fiscal year, including Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) and Pokemon Diamond and Pearl (NDS), Nintendo saw its net income jump to 1.67 trillion yen ($16.01 billion), a 73% increase over the past fiscal year.

After taking operating costs and taxes into account, Nintendo was left with a 257.3 billion yen ($2.4 billion) profit for the 2008 fiscal year, 47.7% more than that of the 2007 fiscal year.

Nintendo of America has announced that its upcoming healthy lifestyle software Wii Fit (Wii) will carry a suggested retail price of $89.99 in North America.

Bundled with the pressure sensitive Wii Balance Board, Wii Fit and its 40-plus activities hits North America on May 19.

Ever eager to please, Nintendo has released 43 new screenshots of Wii Fit, showing off the various activities and European localization of its upcoming fitness title.

Bundled with the pressure sensitive Wii Balance Board, Wii Fit hits North America on May 19, with the European version set to arrive a bit before on April 24.

Namco Bandai today announced We Ski, revealing its intent to poach some fresh powder on the Wii. Due out later this spring in North America, the title allows up to four players to take their personalized Mii avatars to the slopes.

According to Namco, the game will offer a variety of events, including ski school, freestyle skiing, moguls and slaloms, and photography.

Along with the expected motion-sensitive Wii Remote controls, the game can played via the upcoming Wii Balance Board, which will be bundled with Nintendo's Wii Fit when it arrives May 19.

We Ski marks one of the first times an external third party has used either the Wii's customizable Mii avatar system or the Wii Balance Board. Though numerous Nintendo helmed titles, such as Wii Sports and WarioWare Smooth Moves, utilize Miis to literally bring players into the game, few third-party games have integrated the functionality.

In a press release noting its Game Developers Conference presence, Nintendo has announced that the first U.S. WiiWare games will start showing up May 12.

According to Nintendo, early WiiWare -- just like Virtual Console games, available through the Wii 's built-in Shop Channel -- titles will include games from Square Enix, Frontier Developments and Telltale Games.

Meanwhile the exercise product Wii Fit, which has sold over 1.4 million copies in Japan since its December 1, 2007 launch, will reach U.S. shores May 19.