Ubisoft

Today Ubisoft announced that Dawn of Discovery, a real-time strategy and simulation game specifically designed for the Wii system, the Nintendo DS hand-held system and PC, is now available in stores. Dawn of Discovery gives gamers the opportunity to explore new civilizations and build their own empire like never before, through the immersive action of the Wii Remote and the Nintendo DS stylus.

Game features include:

Build and sustain your own expansive empire
. Explore the beautifully detailed world and discover new places to create your civilization
. Set up trade posts in the spice mines of the Orient and explore new trade routes to keep your nation growing
. Learn from other nearby cultures to expand your horizons and master the challenges of establishing a prosperous society

Developing games for today's console systems is more expensive than ever. According to Yves Guillemot, chairman and CEO of Ubisoft, that trend is going to continue. "The next generation is going to be so powerful that playing a game is going to be the equivalent of playing a CGI movie today."

"With the increased graphical power will come greatly increased costs. Today, making a game for Microsoft's Xbox 360 or Sony's PlayStation 3 typically costs between $20 million and $30 million. (Games for the Wii typically cost much less to create, due to the system’s less than cutting-edge components.)"

"Next generation, estimates Guillemot, top tier games will likely average $60 million to make."