Filmmaker Steven Spielberg and video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. are releasing a few tidbits about their ongoing collaboration to make three video games, but most details - including the game's titles - remain a secret.

When Will Nickelson and his daughter want to spend some quality time together, they fire up Nintendo Co.'s Wii and play a few rounds of ''Wii Sports'' or ''Mario Party 8.''

Less than 12 weeks ago, people around the world first picked up a Wii Remote and realized Nintendo is changing video games forever. The realistic game play of Wii Sports turned parents and grandparents into gamers, and launched a new Wii-based party and fitness craze. Today Nintendo builds on the momentum with the arrival of Wii Play, collection of nine new games in the Wii Sports style that lets players fish, play pool or shoot targets with the motion-sensitive Wii Remote.

After watching everyone from gamers to grandmas fall under the spell of ground-breaking Wii games during the holidays, Nintendo fulfills its promise to continue the flow of fun for veteran and new gamers alike. Nintendo's first-quarter lineup is filled with new games that expand the breadth and depth of the Wii library and build on the kind of fun that has made Wii such a smash hit.

There has never been anything like it. Independent U.S. sales figures released by the NPD Group today confirmed a red-hot launch for the new Wii system by Nintendo, and the crowning of the portable Nintendo DS as the best-selling video game device of any type for both the holidays and all of 2006.

2006 was a great year for video games. While years that see new home consoles are successes, this year in particular proved that video games are becoming mainstream faster than you may realize. While a lot of it has to do with the Wii, a system vying for the position of “console anyone can play,” the fact that a huge entertainment company like Sony is showcasing their new format of media on PlayStation 3 says something. Now that officially every mainstream game has been released in 2006, here are the 20 best games of the year:

With various complaints about how sturdy the current wrist strap is for the Nintendo Wii's remote and horror stories of it flying through expensive TVs, Nintendo of America has begun a free, voluntary replacement plan. By filling out a simple shipping form and your Wii's serial number, Nintendo will ship you up to four replacement straps. More details follow.

In a result that will surely send fanboys into a rage, action-RPG The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion beat out favorite Gears of War for Game of the Year at Spike TV Video Game Awards 2006. You can watch the star-studded event on Spike TV this Wednesday, December 13, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. List of nominees below, winners in bold:

For video gamers, it was the month that was -- November 2006, the first time all three new home systems (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii) would be available to consumers, along with three established portable game devices (Nintendo DS, GameBoy Advance, PSP). It was a month that belonged to Nintendo.