The humble quiz was a firm favourite long before the first console was ever put together, or even conceived of.

We’re enjoying a summer of sports at the moment. Not only have we got the impending annual fixture of seeing British hopes washed out at Wimbledon, we’re also currently enjoying a UK-free Euro 2008 over on the Continent.

There are few more satisfying moments to a gamer than just before an enemy is vanquished – he’s already been well beaten, and all that is required is an elaborate killing move.

What would the world be like without small and loveable Japanese cartoon characters? Rubbish, that’s what. Boring and rubbish, with no bizarre Far Eastern fun to keep us all entertained and twist our minds in the wee small hours.

As our industry strides confidently into a brave new world of mass-market, family-friendly gaming, there are a handful of franchises that are leading the march. And despite what you might think, they’re not all made by Nintendo.

Fans of Resident Evil, Civilization, World of Warcraft or Call of Duty are perhaps not massively familiar with Ubisoft’s Imagine series on DS, but then such folk are having to face up to the reality that they are no longer gaming’s bread and butter.

The majority of us accept that the skills displayed by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and (obviously) people’s champion Peter Crouch are beyond us mere mortals. But football management? Easy as.

There is an obvious question to ask concerning the release of Super Swing Golf on Wii. It’s the same question you ask any publisher releasing a new FPS on 360 or another brain-sharpening mini-game collection for Wii.