Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has apologized for the approach the company took at this year's E3 press conference and the perception that it has abandoned the "core gamers." He tells Forbes that the feelings of neglect Nintendo fans might be feeling is a "misunderstanding" and the company wants to "get rid of that misunderstanding by any means." Iwata explains "big titles" require time and Nintendo didn't think this was the year to announce any.

The other thing Iwata's conversation with Forbes covers is the continuing Wii supply shortage in the US. The CEO expresses that Nintendo is 100% committed to having Wii be available this holiday, but can't make any guarantee. He believes the best he can do right now is say the company is doing its best to supply the States with consoles.

Video games can occasionally be the source of some pretty disheartening self-realizations -- like the time Rock Band revealed that you've been lied to your entire life about your angelic singing voice, or when Vampire Rain made you realize that you have incredibly poor taste in video games. However, something tells us these revelations are a bit less heartbreaking than those about to be unleashed by Nintendo's latest best-seller, Wii Fit -- especially when the heart in question is the fragile, butter-soaked heart of an overweight child.

Or an average-weighted child, for that matter. You see, Wii Fit measures the user's Body Mass Index (BMI), a weight/height ratio commonly calculated by physicians, though the use of BMI measurements in children is criticized by many dietitians for its frequent inaccuracy. Nintendo recently issued an apology following an incident involving the hurtful labeling of a "solidly built" 10-year-old girl. So, it's like an electronic, $90 version of our fifth-grade gym teacher? We're sold!

Forgiveness is the Christian way, so it's not too surprising that Manchester Cathedral officials have officially forgiven Sony for their use of the historic church in Resistance: Fall of Man. But the subtext of the public acceptance shows there is still some ill will behind the words.

Despite two apologies from Sony for any offense caused, Cathedral Dean Rev. Rogers Govender could only passive-aggressively tell the BBC that "we do forgive Sony for what they have done, even though they still believe they have done nothing wrong." Govender went on to urge the game industry to follow the "long held traditions of film and television" by "having courtesy, respecting the dignity of your subject, and admitting when mistakes have been made." Such traditions of filmic church respect can be seen in this action-packed church scene from Face/Off and this bloody church shootout from The Killer.

On the plus side, Govender admitted to the BBC that the controversy over the game has caused "an increase in visits from young people and tourists." It might not be the "substantial donation" they were looking for, but we're sure the Church doesn't mind the extra money.

Ubisoft has apparently apologized to customers after the word "lesbo"
was discovered as a proper word to use in Scrabble 2007 for the Nintendo DS. Although the Belfast Telegraph got all uppity about the issue and Ubisoft apologized, the simple fact of the matter is that "lesbo" is an official word in the Chambers Official Scrabble Dictionary. In the game there is a "junior" version that omits offensive words, but lesbo is not considered an offensive word in the Scrabble dictionary. Ubisoft merely apologized if offense was caused, they are not pulling the game.

Ubisoft just seems to be running into language issues lately. Back in June they pulled Mind Quiz over the use of the word "spastic." In case you're wondering, many, many derogatory words are official Scrabble words and therefore make perfect sense as allowable in the game. That's the funny thing about a game based on language, they aren't all going to be happy-shiny fun nice words. Besides, a skillful player would wait until they received the extra "S" for "Lesbos," an island in the Aegean sea.

Update: Faux pas, you can't use Lesbos because it's a proper noun. Fine, then just say it's a plural of the derogatory word, that way it's still kosher, but then you become that pluralizer Scrabble player.

[Via EuroGamer]

And here we go into week two of the Church of England vs. Sony over the use of Manchester Cathedral in Resistance: Fall of Man. The Church of England has responded to Sony's apology letter saying that they "thank Sony for the apology" however they are not budging from their previous issues with the game and the portrayal or use of the cathedral in it.

The Church of England in their statement says, "In the meeting with Sony we will discuss our outstanding demands, how this game came to be produced and where the images of the Cathedral came from." Those outstanding demands? Oh, removing the game from store shelves for the use of guns (to protect the planet from Aliens in an alternate time line) within the church and a "substantial donation."

Please find the full text of Sony's apology letter after the break including the Church of England's full response

[Via GamePolitics]

Sony has apologized to the Church of England about any offense that may been caused regarding the use of Manchester Cathedral in the game Resistance: Fall of Man. Sony says, ""It was not our intention to cause offense by using a representation of Manchester Cathedral in chapter eight of the work ... If we have done so, we sincerely apologize."

Sony confirmed the letter is legit and says that they also offered to meet with the Church to discuss their grievances. The Very Rev. Rogers Govender said they'll accept the offer to meet, but says they've still got issues. Yeah, like where's their money? The Church of England went into this for a payday. Originally the Church started off saying they were shocked that a "place of learning, prayer and heritage [was] being presented to the youth market as a location where guns can be fired," but in the end, it just comes down to money.

Sony's letter did make one point very clear. There is no connection between "contemporary issues in 21st century Manchester and the work of science fiction in which a fictitious 1950s Britain is under attack by aliens." We'll see what happens after Sony meets with the Church. Ethically, the final outcome should be announced publicly considering the Church made such a public stink in the first place.

Update: We did contact Sony to receive the full contents of the letter abridged by the AP. They informed us they are not making the letter public. Sony also said, "We believe that our letter adequately sets out our position and we look forward to showing the Cathedral authorities the game in its full context."

Update 2: The Sony letter as reprinted by the Church of England found after the break

This weekend the news broke that the Church of England was unhappy with depictions of Manchester Cathedral in the Insomniac developed, Sony published, game Resistance: Fall of Man. The Church had issues with Resistance's use of guns in the virtual cathedral and called the whole thing "highly irresponsible." Sony went ahead and finally issued a statement stating that they take the matter seriously: "Whilst we believe that we have sought and received all permissions necessary for the creation of the game, we will be contacting the Cathedral authorities in order to better understand their concerns in more detail."

So, that's that, until dialog begins between Sony and Church of England; however, while the two groups work out their issues, CNN's headline writer is having a field day with this story. The best example is the first story they ran about the Church's issues. The headline reads: Cathedral shootout game under fire. Who knew that Resistance was all about a cathedral shootout? Then their latest story had the headline: Church wants cash for 'sick' game. Funny thing is that the word "sick" never shows up once in a quote, it's merely a word supposedly used by the church to describe the situation, but there's no attribution. Get ready kids, the mainstream media might spin this story off its axis.