I-Case for Wii *Chrome*

April 1st, 2007, 11:25 Posted By: wraggster

New from Divineo China:



Now the Wii can look fun as well as play fun! XCM are back and bring their years of replacement case development to the mighty popular Wii. I-Case is a complete, high quality and colourful replacement shell for the Wii console. It’s perfect for those gamers who want to inject their Wii with further healthy does of fun and make their console stand out from the rest. Boasting a simple installation procedure, virtually anyone from young gamers to your Gran could install the I-Case! Initial colours available include Chrome, Crystal Blue and Black.

Includes matching color stand and special Tri-wing screwdriver for installation.

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"Wii-volution" HDMI enabled, 160GB HDD packing Wii: are you fooled?

April 1st, 2007, 11:27 Posted By: wraggster

via engadget



As of writing, there's still a few hours to go until the day that pranksters worldwide like to call their own. Unfortunately that doesn't mean we get to escape from the droll task of reporting on outlandish and suspect game console rumors. This latest one is the most unlikely example we've seen for a while and it's not just the claimed features that stir our suspicions. The premise of the "Wii-volution" rumor is that Nintendo is on the verge of releasing a version of the Wii with an HDMI port and a 160GB Hard Disk Drive integrated into the base of the console. The evidence is an extremely pixelated and blurry photo which points to something on the panel of a black Wii. We're just speculating here, but we think that model could potentially be a developer's kit. And with that, we already feel stupid for in any way taking this kind of half hearted rumor seriously. Hopefully, tomorrow's efforts will be a lot more convincing.

Update: Not that we needed to tell you this, but the original source of the image suggests that this is definitely fake.

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SSX Blur: Analyzing the controls

April 1st, 2007, 11:38 Posted By: wraggster

via joystiq

With the Wii's focus on controls, how does a franchise like SSX handle the transition? Snowboarding -- and Wii-only SSX Blur -- lacks a direct relation to the Wii's motion sensitivity, but the game still translates to hand movements. The steering mechanic, which relies on Nunchuk twists, fits well; it even seems like it had always been a part of SSX.

The tricks, however, are mixed; simple remote flicks feel like a gimmick, while drawing shapes for Ubertricks only works some of the time. Overall, the controls work well enough to keep me playing, but I sometimes stop in frustration after consecutive, unrecognized moves.

As far as graphics, sound, and other review standards, those all hold up in Blur, but aren't my focus in this analysis. (Look up scored reviews for other opinions.) Instead, I'll further explain how Blur translates a thumbstick-and-button game into a tilt-and-flail experience.

I've been playing Blur since its release, unlocking all of the runs and many of the game's extra features. The steering controls feel natural; I just gently roll the Nunchuk to turn and push the thumbstick for a little extra movement. Blur lets users change the balance between the thumbstick and motion controls from being even to turning one up all the way and the other off. I ticked the default up slightly, emphasizing the motion while reducing the thumbstick.

Unlike basic steering, the tricks feel more detached from the game. Players flick the Remote in different directions to flip or twist. However, I often feel like I'm swinging the WIi Remote randomly for these basic moves; Remote flailing may be the successor to button mashing.

The precise Ubertricks -- which require drawing certain shapes with just the Remote or both controllers together -- sometimes work well and sometimes don't. I like the challenge of drawing hearts and loops in the air because it feels like an accomplishment when performed properly. (People who don't like drawing hearts in the air might as well eat kittens.) These shapes are far from the random flailing sense of normal flips and spins.

But even after many hours with the game, the Ubertrick recognition still feels too loose. Sometimes, I can't do a single trick after many successive attempts. Thankfully, Blur lets players practice these finicky tricks whenever paused, so I can re-learn them even in the middle of a run. Other times, the game credits me for a different Ubertrick that has similar shapes as the one I'm trying to perform. Maybe it thinks I'm close enough, and it wants to keep encouraging my spastic gestures.

Blur's gesture recognition is usually close, but it has enough disparity between my motions and its response to sometimes be frustrating. I still have fun playing Blur -- the physicality of the Wii complements action sports -- but it's a game I recommend with caveats. Hopefully the gesture recognition will be tuned in future games and isn't a hardware limitation of the Wii.

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Nintendo of Canada's six unique Wiis contest

April 1st, 2007, 11:43 Posted By: wraggster

via joystiq

Nintendo of Canada is raffling off six hand painted Wiis by Canadian artists. Why does Nintendo of Canada get all the cool contests? The last cool thing Nintendo of America ever did was the Dragon Warrior giveaway with Nintendo Power back in the day. Yeah, we just brought up some old-school stuff there!

To win such an artistic Wii you must be a citizen of Canada and a member of their My Nintendo club -- oh, and you have to be over 13 years old. Winners will be announced on or around May 9. The Wii certainly lends itself to some artistic reinterpretation. Although painting your Wii would probably void any warranty

More Info

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DC games that need to be remade on Wii

April 1st, 2007, 12:06 Posted By: wraggster

via the Dreamcast Junkyard

Moving on, I've decided to put together a list of the top 5 games on the Dreamcast that I believe would work really well if remade for the Wii, control wise. I may even consider sending Sega some of these ideas, as I'd love to see them get off their lazy arse's and make some games for the Wii other than Sonic and Monkey Ball. The Wii has the potential to be Nintendo's Dreamcast, and I don't mean that by sales fiures, but I mean that by just how pioneering it can be, but if everyone just keeps porting PS2 games over, we will never know.

5: REZ

While I can't see anyone (let alone Sega at the moment) pulling off a sequel to this well, the Wii remote would suit this game mighty well. Pointing at the screen would be your aim, and the B trigger would be the shooter, which you hold down than let go of. Pretty simple control then, but where the remote would be great for this game is the built in speaker and rumble. The game is all about how it responds to your actions in both of these departments. Even if it was just a direct port of the PS2 version, this would be great, as the game is pretty darn rare now too.

4: CHU CHU ROCKET

A no brainier, this. The Wii remote pointer could be used as the cursor, the d-pad could be used to place the arrow blocks, and the B trigger used to remove arrow block. This would be a much faster and simpler control scheme than the system used on the Dreamcast, which would make the multi-payer mode much more frantic and fun. If not a full fledged retail release, this could be a direct port with these new controls available on the Virtual Console (The Dreamcast cast is a very small file size). From a financial point for Sega, this would be instant cash as it would be dirt cheap to develop and publish online. Also, use the online features, like the Dreamcast one did, to exchange levels and play against others, this time without that annoying delay.

3: SPACE CHANNEL 5

Before reading on, watch this Youtube clip of a dancing mini game in Wario Ware Smooth Moves, followed by this YouTube clip of how it's actually played. Now, image this, but with Ulala on the screen instead, with the quality 'Simon says' style game play. Is this not a Wii game just begging to happen? It'd be the ultimate "look-like-a-tit-and-love-it" game. Rather surprisingly, no one has yet tapped into the potential of dance and rhythm games on the Wii (although Konami do have a DDR planned for it). No longer will you need to buy dance mats or press buttons, when you could just dance for real in front of your telly with nothing more than a Wii remote.


Imagine the game with visuals like this artwork above. How sweet would that be? It wouldn't be impossible, just look at Monkey Ball on the Wii.


What's more, a new chapter of one of Sega's main unique and under used franchise is exactly what the market needs right now. The Dreamcast was Sega at their creative peak, and they really need to start using some of the franchises created during that time more. You have a lot more properties under your belt than Sonic and Monkey ball you know, use them!

2: JET SET RADIO

While this may not seem obvious right now to many, I've thought about an entire control system for this, using both the Remote ad Nun-chuck. The Nun-chuck analogue would be used to move your character, and flicking it upwards would make you jump. Once you land on a rail, the remote could be titled left and right to keep your character in balance. The A button on the remote would be a new punch button, that will help you slow down the police.

But the real fun would come from how you spray graffiti. When making small graffiti while grinding, you simply use the B trigger if they are at your right, and the Z button on the Nun-chuck if to your left. When you approach a wall where you want to make a big graffiti, both the remote and Nun-Chuck become left and right spray cans. That's right, two cans at the same time. Instead of the Dreamcast games' analogue rotating, patterns and shapes will be displayed on the screen which you have to create using either the left or right cans, or both at the same time. I've even made a mock up above.

The Wii is capable of better graphics than an X-Box, so a leap in graphics from JSRF would be no problem. We don't want realism though, Jet Set Radio (like a lot of the games in this chart) is all about style. Forget the futuristic anime style of JSRF, go back to the more cartoon-y style of the Dreamcast original, then take that cartoony-ness up to a new level. How about making everything bouncier, like an old Betty Boop cartoon? This is probably just a cartoon fanatic talking here, but I would really like to see more games really attempt to be cartoon-y, like Florigan Bros and Wind Waker, and Jet Set Radio could be a good place to start. While the other systems are trying to push for the most life like graphics, the Wii could be all about artistic style.

Speaking of which, this may be just me, but I wanna see a game use the fish eye lens effect that was being used in the canceled Sonc X-Theme. maybe Jet Set radio on the Wii could take advantage of it? Distorted perspectives would be very funky.

1: SAMBA DE AMIGO

This should of been obvious from the start. As soon as the controls were revealed for the Wii, this was one of the first games I thought would work for the system. hell, this game is perfect for the Wii. It simply must be done. Not only would the controls be exactly the same, but they may actually be more accurate with the Wii remote if done right. Due to it's high price of the maracas and rarity of the games, not many people got to experience Samba De Amigo, but on the Wii the game could be easily released as a standard £35-40 game that any one could play with the Wii remote. Even if they just directly port the game it could be a hundred times more popular than it ever got the chance to be on the Dreamcast.

While there's nothing quite as daft as shaking two bright red plastic maracas about, a Wii mote and a Nunchuck, or even two Wii motes so you don't get that pesky wire, would be the next best thing. Wih these, the game could be played exactly how it was on the Dreamcast. The built in speaker on the Wii mote could recreate the rattle of the maracas. Take the control system from Ver.2000, all the songs from the Dreamcast games, add bunch of new songs, and possibly even include down-loadable extra songs, as well as a bunch of mini games, and you already have the perfect follow up.

Simply put, Sega could have the new Guitar Hero on their hands with this. The Wii has given them the perfect opportunity to see the full potential of this forgotten franchise. If Sega really want to be seen as a great game developer again, they need to stop publishing out sourced crap and retro collections and make real games again (I won't even go into the recent Sonic 360 disaster). This one would hardly even take a lot of work to develop, and could be an instant profit for the flawing company. Three words, Sega: MAKE. IT. HAPPEN.

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SNES9xGX2 zip freeze and pal support

April 1st, 2007, 12:13 Posted By: wraggster

Denman has released a new version of the Snes emulator for the Gamecube/Wii, heres whats new:

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Half-Life 2 Wiimote mod

April 1st, 2007, 12:16 Posted By: wraggster

via wiili

Pat Glynn has released the public beta for his Half-Life 2 Wiimote mod. This allows users of Half-Life 2 for the PC to use a Wiimote and Nunchuk to control the game. For more information, go to his website and check it out. Please note that you must have a sensor bar above or below your monitor for it to work correctly.

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MK5 save memory self-test App

April 1st, 2007, 12:28 Posted By: wraggster

News from DrNeo:

thanks cory tooooo much,he make a very useful MK5 2M save memory test App,just run it then can check your save memory working perfect or not!

how to use:

[1] when you run it first time,just click it and start to excute the self-test and give out the testing report. If it's passed,then turn off your NDS.

[2] re-power on your nds and run this App again,it will verify the memory data automatical, if pass too,then mean your MK5 save system is working perfect and can keep the data after power off,100% QC pass.

download: http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index....ic,4061.0.html

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RiverCrossingDS v0.32

April 1st, 2007, 12:32 Posted By: wraggster

MangledLftThumb has updated RiverCrossingDS :

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Space Pong 0.1 Alpha

April 1st, 2007, 21:21 Posted By: wraggster

Circus has released Space Pong for the DS

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Pogo Island US Version

April 2nd, 2007, 07:44 Posted By: wraggster

New from SuccessHK



Pogo Island is a unique title featuring the five most popular games from Pogo.com - Word Whomp, Poppit!, Phlinx, Tri-Peaks Solitaire and Squelchies. While playing each game players will collect tokens which can either be translated into bragging rights amongst peers or transferred to Pogo.com, where players can reap the benefits of being a token guru.

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Medal of Honor: Vanguard US Version

April 2nd, 2007, 07:45 Posted By: wraggster

New from SuccessHK



Step into the boots of Frank Keegan, Corporal of the 82nd Airborne Division and engage in battles throughout Europe. From Operation Husky on the shores of Sicily to Operation Varsity inside Nazi Germany, you’ll fight behind enemy lines in the epic WWII battles that turned America's first paratroopers into heroes of WWII. Medal of Honor Vanguard makes you the driving force in the struggle to liberate Europe. As the first game in the Medal of Honor series to be released on the Nintendo Wii platform, Medal of Honor Vanguard takes full advantage of Wii's one-of-a-kind controllers

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NiGHTS Wii officially named - first images

April 2nd, 2007, 18:49 Posted By: Shrygue

via Computer and Video Games


After the numerous teasing articles and unveiling previews in various magazines, Sega Japan has finally unleashed the first official images of NiGHTS and given it an official name.

The official name of the game is NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams. First details of the game, revealed by gaming magazine Maxi Consolas, confirms that it will once again be set in Nightopia, where you will battle new enemies and bosses, and the Wii Remote will be used to fly.

Also revealed was Sega's plan to include a two-player mode and "some online functions". The game is due in Japan in "winter".

The first images can be seen below, and we'll be chasing Sega for the first screens (that aren't magazine scans), hopefully some time this month.


Screenshots:






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Clip: WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2008 for Wii

April 2nd, 2007, 19:58 Posted By: Shrygue

via Kotaku


I used to love WWF when Vince McMahon would actually came out of the woodwork from time to time and brawled with Triple H for marrying into his family by drugging his daughter ("Oh no he did-ent!). Although I don't watch it anymore, I'm still definitely going to buy WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2008 for the Wii after seeing this clip and also just in case Mr. McMahon is a special bonus character or something.


Video clip here. Leave feedback via comments.

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DS releases for the week of April 2nd

April 2nd, 2007, 20:50 Posted By: Shrygue

via DS Fanboy


What a week! At this rate, we could almost use a DS drought, just to give us time to save up some cash! But we shouldn't complain, since our counterparts in the UK and Australia aren't having much of a week as far as releases go. Isn't that always the way of it? One week, we get a ton of games and they get none, and the next week it's reversed. The only thing we can ever count on is that Japan is going to debut a veritable truckload of new titles. No matter what's going in the rest of the world, the Japanese must have their new DS games.

US releases

• Cake Mania
• Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales
• Honeycomb Beat
• Konami Classics: Arcade Hits

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StarFox 64 shoots onto Virtual Console

April 2nd, 2007, 21:13 Posted By: wraggster

Well, it's long been expected and it's finally materialised - Star Fox 64 has hit Virtual Console in North America, headlining this week's update over the pond. It supports one to four players and is going for a cool 1000 Wii Points.

The shoot-'em-up is joined by the NES version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (one player, 600 Wii Points) which finds the heroes in a half-shell battling Shredder and The Foot in an attempt to save reporter April O'Neil, and Dragon's Curse (one player, 600 Wii Points) which appeared on TurboGrafx16.

Dragon's Curse is a side-scrolling action-RPG that finds the lead character on the trail of the Salamander Cross, which can break a nasty curse placed upon him by the Mecha Dragon. Whatever.

via cvg

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Cooking Mama: Cook Off highlights Wii Remote issues

April 2nd, 2007, 21:27 Posted By: wraggster

In Gamespot's review of recent Wii release Cooking Mama: Cook Off, they make a complaint that is becoming an all-too-common refrain among Wii fans: "The motion controls just aren't reliable. Some are overly sensitive... and some aren't sensitive enough."

There are bigger stakes here than the occasional botched omelette. Over the months since launch, the unpredictable Wii Remote has led to a maddening dichotomy. Some games are too easy, while others are too hard -- for all the wrong reasons.

The easy games, like Wii Sports Bowling, let the most feeble grandma instantly taste sweet victory. But the player's actions don't seem to have that much impact on the results. Swing the remote more-or-less the right way, and you're almost guaranteed a strike.

Gamers who crave a deeper challenge have to settle for battling incomprehensible controls. Wii Sports Boxing is certainly "difficult," but that's because the best strategy is "Flail your arms like a Muppet on PCP." In Wii Sports Golf, you can take the exact same swing five times in a row and get wildly different results each time. And then there's Cooking Mama. Here's a tip: go into your real-world kitchen, and cook some actual food. It'll be about 9,000 times less frustrating, and might result in you eating something healthier than your regular diet of Slim Jims and Funyuns.

So far, the revolutionary controller that was supposed to be universally accessible is confusing, finicky, and imprecise. Maybe over time, developers will learn how to create challenging games that also have intuitive controls, not just one or the other. Until then, the Wii Remote is breaking more than just TV screens... it's breaking hearts.

via joystiq

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GlovePIE lets you play Panzer Dragoon with the Wiimote

April 2nd, 2007, 21:50 Posted By: Shrygue

via Nintendo Wii Fanboy


Reader Tiger is at it again, coming up with some crazy-awesome GlovePIE scripts that allow one to incorporate the Wiimote into other games. Last time he used the Wiimote in House of the Dead 3 and this time Tiger is tackling another Sega game: the PC port of Panzer Dragoon. Again, Tiger delivers, as the gameplay looks smooth and, if you can believe it, improved through the implementation of the Wiimote.

The videos can be seen here. Leave feedback via comments.

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Super Mario Bros. 2 theme done percussion style

April 2nd, 2007, 21:53 Posted By: Shrygue

via Nindendo DS Fanboy


Of course, the Mario theme has been done to death with a variety of instruments and without. But this is Super Mario Bros. 2 and, upon hearing these fine kids rock it percussion style, we're forced to throw up the horns and bang our head with the best of them. Rock on young band folk, rock on!

The video can be viewed here. Leave feedback via comments.

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Disney's Meet the Robinsons US Version

April 2nd, 2007, 22:08 Posted By: wraggster

New from SuccessHK



Disney's Meet the Robinsons, based on the Walt Disney Pictures animated film, is a time-traveling action/adventure game. Players experience the adventure as Wilbur Robinson, helping him chase the dastardly Bowler Hat Guy and his diabolical robotic hat Doris through multiple timelines in an attempt to thwart their evil plans. The game weaves in and out of the film's plot, expanding the Robinson world and offering an all-new adventure. Wilbur will have a host of gadgets at his disposal as he battles enemies and solves puzzles while pursuing Bowler Hat Guy and trying not to alter the future.

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NDS Honeycomb Beat US Version

April 2nd, 2007, 22:17 Posted By: wraggster

New from SuccessHK



A music-driven puzzle game for the Nintendo DS, Honeycomb Beat features intuitive touch screen gameplay and more than 200 unique puzzles to energize your mind. Solve each puzzle by touching on a Honeycomb tile, which will change the colors of the tiles around it. Line up tiles of the same color to eliminate them or create different shapes and patterns. Solve mind-bending challenges of increasing complexity in Puzzle Mode, or play through Evolution Mode where the board advances upwards and you have to eliminate lines before it’s too late.

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Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits US Version

April 2nd, 2007, 22:20 Posted By: wraggster

New from SuccessHK



Konami Classic Series: Arcade Hits features more than 12 of the most memorable quarter-munching arcade hits of all-time, letting players enjoy these timeless classics in both their original and remixed dual screen forms and also enjoy them with friends in special wireless modes. Taking advantage of the unique functionality of the Nintendo DS, Arcade Hits lets players choose from a number of screen configurations, including horizontal and vertical combinations to maintain the original screen size of each game at it appeared in arcades. Players can also use the system's wireless capabilities to play with friends and share data such as high scores and replays. Arcade Hits also features special modes that let players listen to more than 100 classic songs and sound effects and review the history of each title in the compilation, complete with trivia and vintage artwork. Featured games include Circus Charlie, Contra, Gradius, Roc'N Rope, Rush'N Attack, Time Pilot, Track and Field, Yie-Ar Kung Fu and more.

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Disney's Meet the Robinsons US Version

April 2nd, 2007, 22:23 Posted By: wraggster

New from SuccessHK



Disney's Meet the Robinsons, based on the Walt Disney Pictures animated film, is a time-traveling action/adventure game. Players experience the adventure as Wilbur Robinson, helping him chase the dastardly Bowler Hat Guy and his diabolical robotic hat Doris through multiple timelines in an attempt to thwart their evil plans. The game weaves in and out of the film's plot, expanding the Robinson world and offering an all-new adventure. Wilbur will have a host of gadgets at his disposal as he battles enemies and solves puzzles while pursuing Bowler Hat Guy and trying not to alter the future

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Wii are the champions?

April 2nd, 2007, 22:55 Posted By: wraggster

via reuters

But it's far too early to pick the ultimate winner. Gaming industry press and analysts still feel the PS3 has the chops to dominate in the end. Reviews at videogame site GameSpot say that "the PS3 has all the processor, graphics and communications power necessary to win this generation," while Electronic Arts departing CEO Larry Probst told a Web conference audience that he believed the PS3 will prove the ultimate winner.

Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 is taking strong lead in the number of games sold. The Xbox 360 has six titles in the top 10 for February -- including the No. 1 title -- while Wii has three and PS3 none (PS2 title "Guitar Hero" took the final spot). Additionally, Xbox 360 owners buy far more games than the owners of other consoles at a rate of 5.4 games per 360 owner. That rate falls to 2.3 for the PS3 and 2.8 for the Wii.

That leaves the Wii, for now, with everything to lose.

"Their challenge going forward is to make sure this is not a passing fad by getting a stream of content into the market," Gartenberg says. "The game console purchase driver is still going to be first and foremost games. The secondary stuff is the icing on the cake."

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iDeaS v1.0.1.3 - Mario Bros DS Full Speed

April 2nd, 2007, 23:20 Posted By: wraggster

Lino has released a new version of his Nintendo DS Emulator for Windows thats supporting Commercial DS Games and many at full speed.

Heres some screens:



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Metareview: Honeycomb Beat

April 3rd, 2007, 03:47 Posted By: wraggster

via dsfanboy

We gamers are hard on puzzlers, but we can't help it -- we've seen so many great ones, particularly on handhelds. Thus, it takes something really phenomenal (or at least really addicting) to rack up notable scores. Unfortunately for Konami's Honeycomb Beat, it looks like a mixed reception. Fortunately, the low price -- Honeycomb Beat weighs in at just $20 -- may make it a safe bet for puzzle addicts.

Game Informer (70/100) found the game fun, but awfully slim on features. "I liked puzzle mode the best, but wanted a little more. There is nothing else to this game. I guess you get what you pay for, but even at $20 it would have been nice to see a two-player mode."

Games Radar (70/100) thinks HB is engaging, but could do more: "Honeycomb Beat's pretty damn fun for what it is, but can also be maddening mostly because the difficulty spikes about halfway through the Puzzle Mode. Still, it'll give your brain one hell of a workout without having to shout "Blue" repeatedly into the DS' mic."

GameSpy (40/100) thinks it feels half-finished: "Although these two modes are very different and require different strategies, there's not a whole lot to them. The gameplay also isn't engaging enough for extended play sessions. As soon as you start growing tired with the two available modes, the lack of variety really starts to become apparent. A few extra modes would have gone a long way in extending the life of this one."

We're sensing a theme here.

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SNEmulDS 0.5 Alpha 2 Released

April 3rd, 2007, 03:55 Posted By: wraggster

Archeide has released a new version of the excellent Snes emulator for the Nintendo DS:

Heres whats new:

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DSHobro Browser Alpha

April 3rd, 2007, 04:01 Posted By: wraggster

Costello has released a new Web Browser for the DS:

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Nitro Hax v0.81

April 3rd, 2007, 04:03 Posted By: wraggster

Chishm has made a small update to Nitro Hax, the action replay clone for the DS

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GoBlue

April 3rd, 2007, 04:06 Posted By: wraggster

Pete posted this news/release:

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R4 DS Firmware 1.08 Beta

April 3rd, 2007, 04:08 Posted By: wraggster

New firmware for R4DS flash card:

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GoLife

April 3rd, 2007, 04:11 Posted By: wraggster

Anarcho Mario has updated his game for the DS:

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360, Wii Pirates walk the graphics plank

April 3rd, 2007, 14:52 Posted By: wraggster

Disney Interactive has released the first screenshots of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - and we've never seen such a huge visual leap between two Wii and Xbox 360 counterparts.

As you can see from the supplied evidence the 360 version is shaping up quite nicely, while the Wii edition, with it's sub-PS2 character models and ticket to jaggy hell, needs to be thrown overboard. We'll let you guess which screens are which.

As for the game itself we'll have to wait and see how that turns out - the last Pirates game from Disney was passable so hopefully this will improve on the creaky template.

Screens Here

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Miyamoto plans Wii enhancements "for hardcore players"

April 3rd, 2007, 14:54 Posted By: wraggster

Shigeru Miyamoto has reassured fans that despite Nintendo's new granny/girl audience pitching, the Wii will still cater for hardcore players - and there are a number of system enhancements planned with us serious gamers in mind.

Speaking to US mag Gamepro, the Mario daddy said that there are "other enhancements to the Wii interface and developments being planned that are going to really make games for hardcore players a lot more fun and interesting."

"A lot of people have the misunderstanding that Nintendo is not interested in network gaming," he hinted.

"What we are interested in isn't so much the idea of creating a game that is online and networked in a way that we have seen online up until now".

At GDC earlier this month Miyamoto promised a new Wii Channel where players can showcase their Miis, though to us that doesn't sound quite hardcore enough to be what he's referring to here.

What could it be then? Is Nintendo finally taking online gaming seriously? Are holograms the answer? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

via cvg

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Nintendo wants "more support out of Take-Two"

April 3rd, 2007, 14:58 Posted By: wraggster

Following the shock announcement that the ultra-brutal Manhunt 2 is coming to the family-orientated Wii, Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime has said he expects "even more support out of Take-Two".

In an interview with Newsweek, Fils-Aime acknowledged the importance of support from developers like Rockstar, saying: "they bring content that we just don't do."

He went on to explain "In the case of Take-Two and Rockstar, it was a series of conversations, predominantly with Paul Eibeler, around what made sense for them, what makes sense for us, and frankly, those conversations continue.

"I fully expect we will see even more support out of Take-Two in total," he went on to say. "They have fantastic capabilities in sports - sports other than the Mario genre of sports Nintendo doesn't do - so it's a match that needs to happen."

Reggie also spoke about Nintendo's pledge to aid first party devs in producing games for its platforms.

"We acknowledge that Nintendo needs to do a better job sharing technical expertise and sharing insight from our own creative process," he said. "What we are doing is having our very senior developers spend time with publishers and their development arms helping them understand our platform, and hopefully leading to better games."

We imagine Miyamoto is furiously up-ending tables at third-party development offices as we speak.

via cvg

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No criminal charges filed for win a Wii death

April 3rd, 2007, 15:01 Posted By: wraggster

via cvg

Jennifer Strange died last year of water intoxication after entering a radio competition to drink water and resist the need to wee in order to win a Wii. Following the death, ten of the radio personnel were fired.

The death was investigated by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department who have said that given the circumstances of the case, no criminal activity took place. It was just a horrible accident.

The District Attorney said, "The facts and circumstances of this ill-fated event do not support the filing of criminal charges against the radio station or any of its employees. "Jennifer Strange was an adult who was voluntarily participating in the radio contest. She knew what the contest involved when she entered it, and had the option to stop or discontinue her participation in the contest at any time.

"Finally, and most importantly in our decision not to file involuntary manslaughter charges, there were no observable indications or symptoms that Jennifer Strange was experiencing a serious medical emergency which would have required station employees to seek or administer medical aid to her." This was because the DJ was interviewing her live on air without any problem.

A laywer for the Strange family added, "I am not surprised by the district attorney's decision. We do not believe the conduct of the individuals rose to criminal intent. It is consistent with our viewpoint from the beginning that the decision maker responsible was the management of Entercom."

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RGB-AV SCART Cable for Wii (Pal Console only)

April 3rd, 2007, 15:17 Posted By: wraggster

New from Divineo China



Connect your Wii to any SCART television with this durable cable that supports high resolution RGB signal.

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Nintendo wants to expand role of Miis online - Miyamoto

April 3rd, 2007, 15:21 Posted By: wraggster

Shigeru Miyamoto says there's a lot of interest within Nintendo at the prospect of using Miis to expand the Wii's online offering.

"What we are interested in isn't so much the idea of creating a game that is online and networked in a way that we have seen online up until now," he told GamePro.

That ties in with what he told Newsweek when asked what he thought of PlayStation Home for PS3. "I wouldn't be surprised if we also did something along those lines further in the future," he admitted.

"In terms of taking the Miis and expanding them, that virtual kind of Sim-type experience," he then elaborated. "It's something that a lot of people have already done and shown interest in, and we have a lot of people internally who are interested in that type of a project too."

Earlier, Miyamoto had hinted to GamePro that the Wii might also see "enhancements" to its interface that "really make games for hardcore players a lot more fun and interesting". A swear box, perhaps. Wouldn't hurt.

via eurogamer

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Mario Strikers charge at May

April 3rd, 2007, 15:30 Posted By: wraggster

The Wii version of Mario Strikers is due out on 25th May, Nintendo said today, and will offer online multiplayer via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

As with Mario Smash Football and SEGA Soccer Slam, from which it seems to draw "some" inspiration, Mario Strikers: Charged Football is a fast-paced game of five-a-side that sees players performing acrobatic special shots once they've built themselves up to it.

That'll be true here, but there are some twists. "Super Abilities" are a bit more elaborate, with Mario blowing himself up to huge proportions to trample the opposition, and Princess Peach taking photos that freeze the other team to the spot. "Mega Strikes", meanwhile, split the ball into five separate spheres that have to be defended to avoid a goal.

Your chosen team captain will be the main "named" character, like Mario or Luigi, as usual, but you'll also be able to pick three side-kicks from eight offered based on their specific characteristics, potentially adding a bit of tactical depth to a game that usually revolves around the main players.

Control is much as you'd expect for the most part, with movement on the Nunchuk's analogue stick, but this being the Wii there are a few nods to the motion sensor, with Wiimote flicks used to body-check opponents, while Mega Strikes from opposing players can be batted away from the goal by using the Wiimote to block them with a set of on-screen goalkeeping gloves.

You'll also be able to take advantage of various power-ups, with fouled players given special treats to help avenge themselves, including red spiky shells, or a chain chomp that chases the opposition around the pitch.

As for the multiplayer - which is in addition, we should say, to a multi-tiered three-cup single-player game and an exhibition-style "Domination" mode - you will be able to team up with a friend in a group of four to play two-on-two games on one console, as well as going online to take part in ranked and unranked matches against people across the world, with global leaderboards keeping track of your progress.

The fact that you can play two-on-two offline led us to wonder whether you could do the same on that old Internet. Sadly Nintendo hasn't got back to us about it yet, but we'll be sure to let you know when someone does.

via eurogamer

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Worms Open Warfare 2 pops up

April 3rd, 2007, 15:34 Posted By: wraggster

Via Eurogamer

THQ has confirmed in its latest release schedule that we'll be seeing more wriggly Worms on handhelds this summer.

Worms Open Warfare 2 is due to appear on DS and PSP in July - just four months after the arrival of the first game.

Unfortunately THQ was unable to offer us any comment on what we could expect to change in this offering, but it will almost certainly attempt to iron out problems that stopped the original reaching its full potential.

Also new to our hive-mind was a listing for DS title Drawn To Life, scribbled down for a September release.

Here you'll be challenged to grasp your stylus and populate the world with your creations, ranging from characters and animals, up to planets - literally painting the night sky.

You'll then be able to explore the entire world, battling through scrolling platform levels with your freshly made creations. And don't worry, if you're cack-handed like us, then you'll be pleased to know there are a slew of templates to use to get you started.

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Germany Gets the "Sony Nintendo DS"

April 3rd, 2007, 16:27 Posted By: wraggster

via kotaku



And only €149! So cheap!! Reader Tobi writes:

Two days ago I spotted the brand new Sony DS, yes it's right —THE SONY DS. As you can see in the attachment, there is a photo of a flyer from the local shop here near Kassel in the center of Germany... There is no website of this shop, but the company has other shops in other cities.
But do they have Sony Nintendo DSes, too?

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Touch Pen Attachment DS Lite

April 3rd, 2007, 16:52 Posted By: wraggster

New Penstylus released at Play Asia,



More Info --> http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-1v5v.html

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What Nintendo needs to attract serious gamers

April 3rd, 2007, 22:22 Posted By: wraggster

via gamesradar

Wii has clearly been a massive success, especially with non-gamers, and the launch last Christmas was peppered with stories of whole families enjoying sessions of Wii Sports. Yet, aside from Zelda, it does seem to lack the 'hardcore' appeal that consoles have traditionally thrived on.

Fortunately, Shigeru Miyamoto, director of Nintendo, has promised that "enhancements" are on the way for the Wii's interface that will make "games for hardcore players more fun and interesting", during a recent interview with US site GamePro.

Miyamoto also hints that Wii's online gaming - a clear pull for gamers - won't work "in a way that we have seen online up until now".

So what is Nintendo planning? We can't know for sure, but below we've pulled together a few ideas for enhancements that could give more 'real', dedicated gamers something to shout about.
Above: Virtual Console has arguably been the biggest pull for hardcore gamers

Online gaming
Obvious, but important. Although Miyamoto says Nintendo is more interested in the idea of gamers being constantly connected, and in the possibilities for new types of entertainment, than your average online approach.

So what about a Wii equivalent to DS game-sharing, letting you play online with friends who don't own the full game? Whatever Ninty's ideas are for innovation, though, a good old dose of regular versus or co-op online play is fairly essential for Wii's gamer-appeal.

Mii chatrooms
PS3 has Home, so why can't Wii's Miis have somewhere to hang out? The interest shown in Sony's new virtual space proves that gamers are interested in meeting up online, and being able to form communities and groups is important too.

A Habbo Hotel -esque location, where you can wander around as your Mii and interact with others, would bring a deeper level of gamer interaction to the pretty shallow set-up Wii has at the moment. Merely letting us vote on each other's avatars isn't going to cut it, Nintendo.

Gamer-focused Wii channels
Miyamoto reckons Wii's online plans will see more social-based stuff on the console, so what about a YouTube-style upload channel for user created in-game movies? Or a Spectator channel, which would cover official or sponsor-created tournaments and provide virtual coverage on them?

By appealing to every gamer's lust for bragging rights, Nintendo would help form a community based on the sort of one-upmanship caused by Xbox 360's Achievements system, only more visual and immediate.

Hardcore-friendly motion controls
Rather wave your arms around constantly during every battle in Wii's Zelda, or grab a copy on 'Cube and play with a more traditional style? We know which we prefer. We love Wii's controls, but it's all about the way they are used and presented. Fishing in Zelda on Wii, for instance, is brilliant.

If there were more games that used motion control beneath the surface - for lesser-used abilities or mini-games say - or in a more acceptable, convincing manner, we're sure the more serious gamer would find Wii a more comfortable home over long play sessions.

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Nintendo museum opens in Japanese department store

April 3rd, 2007, 22:32 Posted By: wraggster

via joystiq

Think you're a hardcore Nintendo fan? Prove it. Book a plane ticket to Osaka, Japan, then beat cheeks to the Hankyu Department Store to see its "Nintendo Museum" exhibit. Also, create a time machine, because it's over.

Don't have the cash for the plane ticket? On the outs with Doc Brown? Thankfully, 1UP was on hand to allow you to vicariously nerd out.

Checking out the piece may also help you build a little geek cred, too. The next time your buddy tries to impress the moderately cute girl in the Zelda T-shirt at Hot Topic by telling her that Nintendo started as a playing card company, imagine referencing "Chiritori, the remote-controlled mini-vacuum cleaner." Oooh ... sick burn.

More Info

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Spoilerific: First 30 minutes of Super Paper Mario on video

April 3rd, 2007, 22:41 Posted By: wraggster

via joystiq

Like spoilers? Have we got a treat for you! Advanced Media Network has posted a video showing the first 30 minutes of gameplay in Super Paper Mario. Spoil the opening sequence, spoil the plot, and spoil about ten minutes of actual gameplay. While you're at it, leave the milk out of the fridge and let it spoil too!

The game looks great, however, and the scriptwriting is as punchy as previous Paper Mario games. It's also a comfort to hear familiar series sound effects make a return. Go ahead, jump the gun and check out the video. When the game is released in a few days, you'll get to sit through it all over again!

Video Here

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Modchips Pushing Wii Price Up

April 3rd, 2007, 22:53 Posted By: wraggster

via gamasutra

On a different note, I recently visited my local game shop and noticed that the price for Nintendo's Wii consoles have gone up over the past months, with imported hardware units appearing unofficially in Shanghai after the console's launch in November 2006.

While prices for Wii started at 3000 Yuan ($388) for these imports when the console was launched, prices soon decreased to around 2100 Yuan ($271) for the Japanese version of the console. However, in the last month, prices for Wii consoles skyrocketed, back up to almost 3000 Yuan again.

According to the local shop, the new consoles are equipped with mod chips that can play both US and Japanese back up copies of the games. With pirated Wii games selling for only 10 Yuan ($1.30) per game, demand for Wii consoles rose sharply, warranting the price hike. (The price of the mod chip is also likely factored in to some of the increase, of course.)

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This 'Godfather' is a welcome addition to the Wii family

April 3rd, 2007, 22:57 Posted By: wraggster

via usatoday

One year after their gaming debut, the Corleones invade Nintendo territory in The Godfather Blackhand Edition, a mafia tale energized by the Wii's unique controls.
Blackhand follows the same plot as previous Godfather iterations, which all stay true to the film. Driven by the violent death of your parents, you take the role of an up-and-comer in the Corleone crime family.

Presentation is solid, on par with the PlayStation 2 or classic Xbox. City details are sharp, and overall sound — from weapon effects to The Godfather's signature soundtrack — add to the Francis Ford Coppola feel.

Since Blackhand is a Wii title, the series' biggest change is in the controls, which offer a refreshing spin on the action. Hand-to-hand combat is more engaging. Similar to boxing in Wii Sports, you quickly move the nunchuk and remote forward to jab or across your body for hooks. Holding down the directional pad before a punch adds power.

Players can also make a series of grab moves to dole out further punishment. Using the controllers' trigger buttons, you can pick up foes and toss them against a wall or table — or over a ledge for you Sonny types. Arguably the coolest move is the strangle. After grabbing an opponent, make quick flicks away then forward to wrap your hands around an opponent's neck. Shaking the controllers forward and back simulates strangling an enemy to death.

Most of the moves in Blackhand are easy to execute, although there were moments where the Wii controls seemed finicky to me, especially when reloading weapons. I sometimes needed to flick the nunchuk a couple times before it would reload. Timing punches is also tricky at first, but highly entertaining once you delve into the game's many opportunities to bring the pain.

Gunplay has been tweaked slightly but is mostly unimpressive. The nunchuk trigger locks in your target while you fire with the remote trigger. As with the first Godfather game, the lock doesn't automatically flip to the next live target, forcing you to release and then grab the trigger again to establish a new target. Just like the original, that's highly annoying. Cycling between weapons is also awkward.

New to the action are hit squads — the ability to call in the cavalry if you're stuck in a tough fight. For a price, you can call four Corleone cohorts to assist you in tougher battles. Occassionally they come in handy, but your computer opponents are very forgiving and present little challenge.

This Godfather still has open-ended action. Roam the city freely to embark on your main objectives or make side missions to increase your rank within the family. Shaking down businesses is particularly entertaining with Blackhand's control scheme.

For fans familiar with The Godfather franchise, Blackhand Edition is a worthy rental. But for those interested in the world of organized crime, the Wii may be their best introduction to the family.

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Nintendo's Japan Wii Sales Double Those of Sony's PlayStation 3

April 3rd, 2007, 23:00 Posted By: wraggster

via bloomberg

Nintendo Co., the world's third- biggest maker of video game players, has sold more than twice as many Wii game consoles in Japan as rival Sony Corp. has sold of its PlayStation 3, a research report said.

Kyoto-based Nintendo has sold 1.95 million units of its newest game machine as of March 25 since it debuted on Dec. 2 last year, Tokyo-based research firm Enterbrain Inc. said in a faxed statement. Sony has sold 812,000 of its latest console since November 11, the report said.

As the PlayStation 3 loses market share in Japan, it becomes more difficult for Sony to recoup investment in the machine. Sony and rivals Nintendo and Microsoft Corp., which makes the Xbox 360, sell players at or near a loss on expectations of making money on game software.

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DSdiag v1.0 - Diagnostics Software for the DS

April 4th, 2007, 03:22 Posted By: TeenDev

Here's my new app for the Nintendo DS (yes, just mine). It's very boring recovering from surgery, so I decided to make some use of my time and make this. It's a DS diagnostics tool. It will test to see if FAT and SRAM are working. As well as making sure the backlights work. It will also retreieve your DS's IP at the touch of a button but this is currently incorrect. It is very simple an doesn't have a ton of features but I will be adding more including a nice GUI, as time permits.

Remember to patch it with DLDI!

Controls:

X:Turns the top screen's backlight on.
Y: Turns the top screen's backlight off.
L: Turns the bottom screen's backlight on.
R: Turns the bottom screen's backlight off.

START: Gets your DS's IP (Currently broken and displays what appears to be random numbers).


Enjoy!

PS: If your card can't pass this, you should buy a new card.

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments

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Shash DeSmuMe WIP

April 4th, 2007, 07:31 Posted By: wraggster

Shash has posted more WIP news of his work on the DS Emulator for Windows called DeSmuMe:

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ZXDS 0.0.3 Alpha 1

April 4th, 2007, 07:34 Posted By: wraggster

ZXDS is an upcoming emulator of Sinclair ZX Spectrum for Nintendo DS, written by Patrik Rak. It is still in a very early stage of development, but it already has some noteworthy features, like emulation of Spectrum 128k or TAP/TZX support.

Heres whats new:

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Reggie: Metroid Prime 2 didn't live up to expectations

April 4th, 2007, 12:45 Posted By: wraggster

We reported yesterday on the first half the interview where the US Nintendo president said he wanted more support from Take Two. The second half of Newsweek's interview has now gone live, where Reggie talks about Metroid among other things.

"Where is Metroid? Metroid is not going to ship by June. We've announced all of our games through the end of June. And the fact with Metroid is we want to make sure that that game is perfect. Unfortunately, Metroid Prime 2 didn't live up to our expectations, it didn't live up to Retro's expectations," he said, adding, that was from a "a sales standpoint".

"I think we were all happy with the product itself. Certainly it won quite a bit of critical acclaim, but the sell-through wasn't what we wanted it to be. We want the sell-through as well as the critical acclaim for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption to be the best in the series, and that's a lofty bar. To do that is taking a little bit more time than we had anticipated. But it's coming. And it will be great."

via cvg

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Nintendo reveals average Q2 release list

April 4th, 2007, 12:49 Posted By: wraggster

Cast your eyes over Nintendo's Q2 release list for Wii, DS and GBA which, it has to be said, has some decent games but nothing to go bananas over.

Most notable on the list is Mario Strikers Charged Football, which will be the first online Wii game in UK. We're also really looking forward to Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, with its cool-looking motion control system, the platform-tilting antics of Mercury Meltdown Revolution and the carnage of the Metal Slug Anthology.

Final Fantasy III is the highlight of the DS list, along with N64-remake Diddy Kong Racing. And if you're a Final Fantasy fan you might want to put that GBA slot to good use with Final Fantasy V and VI Advance turning up on the single-screen portable.

UK DS owners will finally be getting Metroid Prime Pinball which came out in the US in October 2005. Harvest Moon DS - another late arrival for Europe - will also land in April.

Anyway, check out the full list for yourself below...

Wii Hardware and Software - Release Date Q2 2007

Wing Island (Nintendo / Hudson) - 13th April 2007

Chicken Little: Ace in Action (Disney Interactive Studios) - 20th April 2007

Cooking Mama Wii (505 Games) - April 2007

Elevator Action (505 Games) - April 2007

Pop'n Pop (505 Games) - April 2007

Heatseeker (Codemasters) - April 2007

BIONICLE Heroes (Eidos / TT Games) - April 2007

Eledees (Konami) - April 2007

Impossible Mission (System 3) - April 2007

Mario Strikers Charged Football (Nintendo) - 25th May 2007

Brunswick Bowling Wii (505 Games) - May 2007

World Championship Poker Featuring Howard Lederer: All In Wii (505 Games) - May 2007

Spider-Man The Movie 3 (Activision) - May 2007

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Disney Interactive Studios) - May 2007

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Midway) - May 2007

Puzzle Balls (System 3) - May 2007

Chicken Shoot + Egg Catcher (ZOO Digital Publishing) - May 2007

Pangya! Golf with Style (Nintendo) - June 2007

Dave Mirra Racing Wii (505 Games) - June 2007

Transformers - June 2007

Mercury Meltdown Revolution (Ignition) - Q2 2007

Metal Slug Anthology (Ignition) - Q2 2007


Nintendo DS Hardware and Software - Release Date Q2 2007

Pokémon Ranger (Nintendo) - 13th April 2007

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (Nintendo) - 13th April 2007

Harvest Moon DS (Nintendo / Rising Star Games) - 13th April 2007

The Settlers (Ubisoft) - 19th April 2007

Diddy Kong Racing DS (Nintendo) - 20th April 2007

Jin Jin (505 Games) - April 2007

Wild Wild Western (505 Games) - April 2007

Zendoku (Eidos) - April 2007

Lunar Knights (Konami) - April 2007

Lost in Blue 2 (Konami) - April 2007

Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2007 (Konami) - April 2007

Impossible Mission (System 3) - April 2007

Final Fantasy III (Square Enix) - 4th May 2007

Nicktoons Battle Volcano Island (THQ) - 4th May 2007

Chicken Shoot + Egg Catcher (ZOO Digital Publishing) - 4th May 2007

Picross DS (Nintendo) - 11th May 2007

Custom Robo Arena (Nintendo) - 25th May 2007

Fishing DS (505 Games) - May 2007

Tangram (505 Games) - May 2007

Spider-Man The Movie 3 (Activision) - May 2007

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Disney Interactive Studios) - May 2007

Pony Friends (Eidos) - May 2007

Death Jr and the Science Fair of Doom (Konami) - May 2007

Marvel Trading Card Game (Konami) - May 2007

Steel Horizon (Konami) - May 2007

Power Play Pool (System 3) - May 2007

Super Fruit Fall (System 3) - May 2007

Herbie: Fully Loaded (Disney Interactive Studios) - 1st June 2007

ANNO 1701 (Disney Interactive Studios) - 8th June 2007

8 Ball All Stars (Oxygen) - 8th June 2007

Powershot Pinball Constructor (Oxygen) - 8th June 2007

Mahjong (dtp) - 15th June 2007

Wario: Master of Disguise (Nintendo) - June 2007

Kirby Mouse Attack (Nintendo) - June 2007

Metroid Prime Pinball (Nintendo) - June 2007

Puzzle League DS (tentative title name) (Nintendo) - June 2007

Shrek The Third (Activision) - June 2007

Meteos: Disney Magic (Disney Interactive Studios) - June 2007

Best of tests DS (Neko Entertainment) - June 2007

Code Lyoco (Game Factory/K.E. Media) - Q2 2007

Pet Alien (Game Factory/K.E. Media) - Q2 2007

Panzer Tactics DS (10tacle Studios) - Q2 2007

Dino Master (Majesco) - Q2 2007

F24 Stealth Fighter (Majesco) - Q2 2007

Mech Assault Phantom War (Majesco) - Q2 2007

Nacho Libre (Majesco) - Q2 2007

Super Black Bass Fishing (Majesco) - Q2 2007

Guilty Gear Dust Strikers (Majesco / THQ) - Q2 2007

B-17 Fortress in the Sky (ZOO Digital Publishing) - Q2 2007

Frisbee Freestyle/Frisbee Golf (ZOO Digital Publishing) - Q2 2007


Game Boy Advance Hardware and Software - Release Date Q2 2007

Final Fantasy V Advance (Nintendo) - 13th April 2007

Another World (ZOO Digital Publishing) - 27th April 2007

Nicktoons Battle for Volcano Island (THQ) - 4th May 2007

Final Fantasy VI Advance (Nintendo) - June 2007

F24 Stealth Fighter (Majesco) - Q2 2007

Teen Titans (Majesco) - Q2 2007

Teen Titans 2 (Majesco) - Q2 2007

via cvg

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Nintendo reveals average Q2 release list

April 4th, 2007, 12:49 Posted By: wraggster

Cast your eyes over Nintendo's Q2 release list for Wii, DS and GBA which, it has to be said, has some decent games but nothing to go bananas over.

Most notable on the list is Mario Strikers Charged Football, which will be the first online Wii game in UK. We're also really looking forward to Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, with its cool-looking motion control system, the platform-tilting antics of Mercury Meltdown Revolution and the carnage of the Metal Slug Anthology.

Final Fantasy III is the highlight of the DS list, along with N64-remake Diddy Kong Racing. And if you're a Final Fantasy fan you might want to put that GBA slot to good use with Final Fantasy V and VI Advance turning up on the single-screen portable.

UK DS owners will finally be getting Metroid Prime Pinball which came out in the US in October 2005. Harvest Moon DS - another late arrival for Europe - will also land in April.

Anyway, check out the full list for yourself below...

Wii Hardware and Software - Release Date Q2 2007

Wing Island (Nintendo / Hudson) - 13th April 2007

Chicken Little: Ace in Action (Disney Interactive Studios) - 20th April 2007

Cooking Mama Wii (505 Games) - April 2007

Elevator Action (505 Games) - April 2007

Pop'n Pop (505 Games) - April 2007

Heatseeker (Codemasters) - April 2007

BIONICLE Heroes (Eidos / TT Games) - April 2007

Eledees (Konami) - April 2007

Impossible Mission (System 3) - April 2007

Mario Strikers Charged Football (Nintendo) - 25th May 2007

Brunswick Bowling Wii (505 Games) - May 2007

World Championship Poker Featuring Howard Lederer: All In Wii (505 Games) - May 2007

Spider-Man The Movie 3 (Activision) - May 2007

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Disney Interactive Studios) - May 2007

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Midway) - May 2007

Puzzle Balls (System 3) - May 2007

Chicken Shoot + Egg Catcher (ZOO Digital Publishing) - May 2007

Pangya! Golf with Style (Nintendo) - June 2007

Dave Mirra Racing Wii (505 Games) - June 2007

Transformers - June 2007

Mercury Meltdown Revolution (Ignition) - Q2 2007

Metal Slug Anthology (Ignition) - Q2 2007


Nintendo DS Hardware and Software - Release Date Q2 2007

Pokémon Ranger (Nintendo) - 13th April 2007

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (Nintendo) - 13th April 2007

Harvest Moon DS (Nintendo / Rising Star Games) - 13th April 2007

The Settlers (Ubisoft) - 19th April 2007

Diddy Kong Racing DS (Nintendo) - 20th April 2007

Jin Jin (505 Games) - April 2007

Wild Wild Western (505 Games) - April 2007

Zendoku (Eidos) - April 2007

Lunar Knights (Konami) - April 2007

Lost in Blue 2 (Konami) - April 2007

Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2007 (Konami) - April 2007

Impossible Mission (System 3) - April 2007

Final Fantasy III (Square Enix) - 4th May 2007

Nicktoons Battle Volcano Island (THQ) - 4th May 2007

Chicken Shoot + Egg Catcher (ZOO Digital Publishing) - 4th May 2007

Picross DS (Nintendo) - 11th May 2007

Custom Robo Arena (Nintendo) - 25th May 2007

Fishing DS (505 Games) - May 2007

Tangram (505 Games) - May 2007

Spider-Man The Movie 3 (Activision) - May 2007

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Disney Interactive Studios) - May 2007

Pony Friends (Eidos) - May 2007

Death Jr and the Science Fair of Doom (Konami) - May 2007

Marvel Trading Card Game (Konami) - May 2007

Steel Horizon (Konami) - May 2007

Power Play Pool (System 3) - May 2007

Super Fruit Fall (System 3) - May 2007

Herbie: Fully Loaded (Disney Interactive Studios) - 1st June 2007

ANNO 1701 (Disney Interactive Studios) - 8th June 2007

8 Ball All Stars (Oxygen) - 8th June 2007

Powershot Pinball Constructor (Oxygen) - 8th June 2007

Mahjong (dtp) - 15th June 2007

Wario: Master of Disguise (Nintendo) - June 2007

Kirby Mouse Attack (Nintendo) - June 2007

Metroid Prime Pinball (Nintendo) - June 2007

Puzzle League DS (tentative title name) (Nintendo) - June 2007

Shrek The Third (Activision) - June 2007

Meteos: Disney Magic (Disney Interactive Studios) - June 2007

Best of tests DS (Neko Entertainment) - June 2007

Code Lyoco (Game Factory/K.E. Media) - Q2 2007

Pet Alien (Game Factory/K.E. Media) - Q2 2007

Panzer Tactics DS (10tacle Studios) - Q2 2007

Dino Master (Majesco) - Q2 2007

F24 Stealth Fighter (Majesco) - Q2 2007

Mech Assault Phantom War (Majesco) - Q2 2007

Nacho Libre (Majesco) - Q2 2007

Super Black Bass Fishing (Majesco) - Q2 2007

Guilty Gear Dust Strikers (Majesco / THQ) - Q2 2007

B-17 Fortress in the Sky (ZOO Digital Publishing) - Q2 2007

Frisbee Freestyle/Frisbee Golf (ZOO Digital Publishing) - Q2 2007


Game Boy Advance Hardware and Software - Release Date Q2 2007

Final Fantasy V Advance (Nintendo) - 13th April 2007

Another World (ZOO Digital Publishing) - 27th April 2007

Nicktoons Battle for Volcano Island (THQ) - 4th May 2007

Final Fantasy VI Advance (Nintendo) - June 2007

F24 Stealth Fighter (Majesco) - Q2 2007

Teen Titans (Majesco) - Q2 2007

Teen Titans 2 (Majesco) - Q2 2007

via cvg

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Umbrella Chronicles is an on-rails shooter

April 4th, 2007, 12:54 Posted By: wraggster

Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles will be an on-rails first-person shooter, Japanese magazine, Famitsu, has revealed.

Translations on NEOGAF reveal that the player will be restricted to a set path, seemingly like a traditional lightgun game, but will be able to use the analogue stick on the Nunchuk controller to look around as they aim and shoot with the Wii Remote.

Levels will, however, contain multiple routes and you will be able to choose which path to take at certain points.

The plot will reportedly follow the story of the Umbrella corporation and its ultimate demise, and will see appearances from Resi stars Jill, Chris, Billy, Rebecca, and the hard-as-nails Albert Wesker.

Let's just hope the game doesn't turn out to be as shonky as the Resident Evil Gun Survivor games, which shared a similar FPS format.

via cvg

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Square unleashes flood of 'non-games' on DS

April 4th, 2007, 12:55 Posted By: wraggster

The latest issue of Japan's Famitsu has uncovered Square Enix's surprising move into "pratical" DS software, including travel guides, yoga lessons and even flower blooming.

No doubt trying to tap the success of Nintendo's own non-game Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training, the firm will unleash DS Yoga Lessons You Can Start Today, Why Not Listen To Classical Music On DS? and Flower-Blooming DS Gardening Lite on the handheld market.

The company is also planning a series of DS software based on the popular Japanese travel guide World Walking, including stylus-fuelled guides for Italy, Hawaii and New York. Any chance we can get one for Sidcup, Square?

In more pleasing handheld news, Famitsu also has previews on Square Enix's proper DS games Final Fantasy Tactics A2 and Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, which look to be shaping up nicely.

We haven't been able to locate any release info for the "practical" software line-up yet, but Mike is being whipped over his Learn Japanese book as we speak and we will, as you can imagine, leap on the info as soon as it surfaces.

via cvg

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New NiGHTS details

April 4th, 2007, 13:03 Posted By: wraggster

via eurogamer

SEGA has updated its NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams website, shedding more information on the freshly announced Wii title.

It seems our asexual hero NiGHTS will have the option of wearing persona masks to shape-shift into different forms, each granting new abilities and exploration possibilies.

The first of these is the dragon mask, capable of transforming you into a giant scaly beast immune to the powerful wind effects of the sky, followed by a dolphin mask that will let you take on the form of Flipper and venture to the depths of the ocean. Then last but not least is the rocket mask granting you supersonic speeds - a bit like Michael Jackson turning into a spaceship in Moonwalker as he attempts to rescue Annie from Joe Pesci's goons. Not that we've ever watched it.

But perhaps the most unique and exciting feature to be announced on the website is the new WiiConnect24 implementation. Familiar things like going online to exchange items with friends will be in, but the ability to change the scenery according to real-world seasons using the Forecast Channel is what's really nifty.

Unfortunately there's little more information than that, so we'll have to keep our eyes peeled. But its got us speculating. Could it be that we'd see in-game changes to reflect day-to-day forecasts? Speak your brain in our handily placed comment system below.

NiGHTS was originally created on SEGA Saturn back in 1996. It cast you in the unisex boots of a fantastical creature who undertook a fluid aerial-combat adventure in the skies of Nightopia.

SEGA Europe finally admitted a Wii version was in development yesterday, and that it will boast seven levels of mystical environments to glide through using the unique possibilities of Nintendo's console.

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Crave spells out new DS, PSP game

April 4th, 2007, 13:05 Posted By: wraggster

via gamespot

With the success of puzzle games like Sudoku and brain-teasing games such as Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day, publishers are looking to capitalize on gamers' new interest in their noggins. The next subject invading handhelds appears to be spelling, as Crave is getting set to test gamers' orthography.

The publisher has announced Spelling Challenges and More! for the DS and PlayStation Portable. The game is due out this summer and will retail for $19.99.

The game will feature a game show mode hosted by Mr. Niceguy, who will award prizes and cash for correct answers. Other modes include a variety of word games revolving around the 25,000 words in Spelling Challenges and More!'s memory.

It wouldn't be a proper spelling challenge without a little competition. Gamers can also try their hand at Ubisoft's Spelling Spree, due out in June on the DS and Wii.

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More free Wi-Fi access for DS down under

April 4th, 2007, 13:07 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo is about to significantly ramp up the number of places DS users can go for free Wi-Fi in Australia. The local arm of the house that Mario built has just signed a deal with Australia’s largest telco--Telstra--to allow DS owners access to more than 1,000 hotspots around the nation.

Telstra’s wireless hotspots can be found in locations such as McDonald’s restaurants, Starbucks cafes, airports and hotels. Gamers can use the hotspots to access Nintendo’s Wi-Fi Connection wireless gaming service. Before the Telstra announcement, most Nintendo Wi-Fi hotspots were located at games retailers around the nation.

A full list of locations will be online soon at http://www.nintendowifi.com.au/global/index.jsp

via gamespot

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Australia Goes Loco For DS

April 4th, 2007, 13:14 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo Australia have announced today that, in keeping with the rest of the world, Australia hearts the DS. How many hearts? 500,000 units have been shifted since the little handheld that could launched in February 2005, which by any stretch of the imagination is a ridiculous number.

Surely our days as masters of this earth are numbered. It won't be long until we're outnumbered by our new dual-screen overlords, who will work us to death in giant, tap-happy salt mines. Why do they need salt? Who knows. I hear they love chips. Especially the phats.

via kotaku

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NiGHTS To Make Use of Wii's Forecast Channel

April 4th, 2007, 13:15 Posted By: wraggster

Now that NiGHTS for the Wii is officially official more details have popped up on Sega Europe's website. Those details are:

Three sets of Persona masks give the player new shape-shifting abilities and more ways to explore the world.
• Dragon mask: Transforms NiGHTS into a huge dragon and makes him resistant to wind effects.
• Dolphin mask: NiGHTS can change into a dolphin and explore under water.
• Rocket mask: NiGHTS takes the shape of a rocket and travels at supersonic speeds.

There are seven fantastical dream worlds to explore and the unique environments of Nightopia introduce an extraordinary, magical world unlike any other.

Wii connect 24: Exchange items with friends via the network and change the scenery according to real-world seasons using the Forecast Channel.

Oooooh. That Forecast Channel inclusive makes us think, hope, pray that Sega might *just* be able to pull this off.

via kotaku

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POGO Island

April 4th, 2007, 13:27 Posted By: wraggster

New from Play Asia



Easy to pick-up and hard to put down! EA's Pogoâ„¢ Island embodies the spirit of casual gaming, offering an addictive Nintendo DS compilation of Pogo.comâ„¢ favorites that will entertain for hours on end.

Pogo Island pushes the phenomenon of online casual gaming to new fronts. The title marks the debut of Pogo.com, the stickiest online gaming site, on a portable console. Through the quick-play option, five of the most popular games from Pogo.com-Word Whompâ„¢, Poppit!â„¢, Phlinx, Tri-Peaks Solitaire and Squelchies- are made accessible to play anywhere and everywhere. Each game has been reskinned to an island theme and delivers the same engrossing and stimulating gameplay that has already captivated millions online.

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Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 US Version

April 4th, 2007, 13:36 Posted By: wraggster

New from SuccessHK



The 2007 game of EA's golfing game sim, designed with a new development philosophy for driving gameplay and feature innovation. Earn respect and climb the ranks with the Tiger Challenge as you play through 18 championship courses and compete against 35 pro and fantasy golfers. Use the cutting edge Wii controller to swing the clubs like the pros. Perfect using the Wii-mote interface for enhanced interaction with the game.

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Beautiful Katamari, RE4, and a new game tentatively confirmed

April 4th, 2007, 14:01 Posted By: wraggster

Codename Revolution, a site that has certainly snagged a few scoops in its time, is swearing that they've got a list of upcoming Wii releases that is ironclad. We're gonna go ahead and call this a rumor until or unless it's confirmed, but we're tentatively excited to tell you about the following:

Beautiful Katamari - November
Namco Museum Remix - October
Resident Evil 4 - May
Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire - September
They're also reporting that we'll see both a shotgun and fishing rod attachment this month. A shotgun accessory could make us very, very happy, but we're going to need something awesome to back it up.

Of course, they don't reveal their source, but we wonder if this is only an offshot of the previous rumblings on Resident Evil 4. Let's hope there's an official announcement soon, before we chew through our fingernails in anticipation.

via wiifanboy

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Retractable Wii Sports Cuff fails to reel us in

April 4th, 2007, 14:02 Posted By: wraggster



The Retractable Wii Sports Cuff replaces the subtlety and elegance of the Wii remote's wrist strap with a bulky band that we wouldn't be caught dead wearing. We don't doubt that the adjustable neoprene cuff has an agreeable fit, but did anyone ever find the original straps uncomfortable, if even noticeable at all?

And what sort of human does the retractable thirteen inches of slack benefit? Are there people whose hands extend that far away from their wrist? Or are these cuffs marketed towards some sort of video-game-playing race of long-fingered mutants? Creepy!

You would think that the shop would take advantage of all the "faulty Wii Strap" controversy and emphasize the durability of the cuff's cord, but the product description makes no mention of any improved toughness. What's there to reassure us that we won't end up with a Wii remote sticking out of our television after a heated game of Wii Tennis? Even at a sale price of $5.99, you'll probably want to stay clear from this accessory.

via wiifanboy

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Sega Genesis wireless controller hack brings back that lovin' feeling

April 4th, 2007, 14:03 Posted By: wraggster

via wiifanboy

Seeing games like Streets of Rage and Gunstar Heroes released on the Virtual Console has been a dream come true for Genesis enthusiasts, but there's something inauthentic about playing these titles with controllers forged by Sega's former adversary. It's like getting back together with an old lover, only to find that there's something missing.

You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips.
And there's no tenderness like before in your fingertips.
You're trying hard not to show it. But baby, baby I know it...

Daniel Hearn refused to let his relationship with the Mega Drive slip away, hacking an old three-button pad to work with the Nintendo Wii wirelessly. Using similar NES/SNES controller mods as inspiration, he pieced this together with PIC microcontrollers, an iPod mini replacement battery, and other electronic junk.

The detailed guide and wiring instructions that Daniel posted are far beyond our limited abilites, but if you don't mind applying a bit of Weird Science to win your love back, this definitely looks worth trying!

More Info

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Snes9xGx.wii 0.01b - Snes Emulator for Wii

April 4th, 2007, 14:10 Posted By: wraggster

Unholyfire has released a new version of the Snes Emulator for the Nintendo Wii (Youll need a wii modchip or use gamecube sd load)

Heres whats new:

Changes from Snes9xGx 1.5
- Added Wii DVD detection capability (allows you to browse the DVD to fetch
ROMS)
- Changed "goto menu" function to button combo "L+R+X+Y" (to support SNES/GC
adapters and/or homebrew controllers)

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DS81 v1.2a

April 4th, 2007, 14:19 Posted By: wraggster

Noddybox has updated his Sinclair ZX81 Emulator for the DS:

Heres whats new:

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No$gba v2.4a

April 4th, 2007, 14:25 Posted By: wraggster

A new release of the GBA and DS Emulator for Windows has been released, heres whats new:

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M3 Pro SD News from the GP2X Store

April 4th, 2007, 15:13 Posted By: wraggster

The GP2X Store (who actually sell for all consoles and have an excellent reputation) has posted this news:

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Introducing the Zelda Adventure sets (and our jealousy)

April 4th, 2007, 15:16 Posted By: wraggster

via dsfanboy



Some of you super hardcore fanatics out there probably knew of the existence of these sets long before we did, so humor us if this is the "old hat" to you. We don't know much, due to horrible machine translation (damn lazy robots), other than these sets were purchased online. No idea how much they were purchased for either (again, we curse you lazy robots), but we know we want them.

More info

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The Nintendo DS Wishlist

April 4th, 2007, 15:18 Posted By: wraggster

via racketboy

No one can deny that the Nintendo DS is hot right now. And when a game system is hot (especially when its from Nintendo), it can get away with having ports of older games and have them sell well.

Super Mario All-Stars
The GBA had all of the original Super Mario Bros trilogy in one form or another. However, each game is on a separate, relatively expensive cartridge and was restricted to the Gameboy Advance’s limited resolution.

I’m sure there are some purists that would disagree with me, but I personally think it would be incredible if Super Mario All-Stars from the SNES was ported to the DS. For those of you that aren’t familiar with the compilation, Super Mario All-Stars includes a graphically enhanced version of Super Mario Bros 1, 2, and 3 in addition “The Lost Levels� (which is essentially the original, very challenging Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 2).

If Nintendo feels especially generous, they could also include a copy of Super Mario World like they did on the later pack-in version of Super Mario All-Stars for the SNES. Anyway, with the success of New Super Mario Bros, I’m sure that a portable re-issue of Super Mario All-Stars would sell like mad on the DS.

Snatcher & Policenauts
Soon after the touch screen abilities of the DS were first shown off, old-school gamers were daydreaming about the possibility of a graphical adventure revival. Early cult classics like Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Hotel Dusk: Room 215 have shown that those intuitions were correct.

Hideo Kojima, the man behind Metal Gear Solid, developed two similar “digital comics� back in the 1990’s known as Snatcher and Policenauts. While they aren’t directly related, they are both heavily inspired by some of Kojima’s film favorites. Snatcher has strong cyberpunk influences from movies such as Blade Runner and Terminator, while Policenauts is said to give nods to films such as Lethal Weapon and Basic Instinct.

What makes a port to the DS especially appealing is that the only English version of Snatcher is on the Sega CD, which needless to say, limited its exposure to the mainstream gaming audience. Policenauts could benefit even more more a new release in the US as there has not been an official English release on any platform.

After the huge success of the Metal Gear Solid franchise, Kojima has much more clout in the gaming industry. Combine that with the rebirth of the graphical adventure on the DS platform and a Snatcher and Policenauts remake should be a recipe for success.

As I reported a while ago, there have actually been some rumors about Snatcher coming to the DS after Kojima expressed some interest in bringing the game to a portable platform and the renewing of the Snatcher trademark.

Namco Museum/Pac-Man Collection/Pac-Man vs.
Ok, so most people would see a Namco Museum compilation on the store shelf and instantly go into a yawn-fest. But I still have a soft spot for the Namco Museum and Pac-Man Collection Gameboy Advance cartridges. These budget releases serve as an excellent little retro getaway that would be even better if I could run them on my DS Lite with the ability to close up the handheld and put it to sleep in between rounds.

To make this new compilation a bit more exciting, I think it would be incredible if Namco teamed up with Nintendo again to make a DS version of the the under-appreciated Pac-Man vs. game from the Gamecube. Pac-Man vs. was actually a project of Shigeru Miyamoto, the mastermind behind Mario, Zelda, and most of Nintendo’s most successful game. It lets up five players battle it out in a Pac-Man “simulation�. One person take the role of Pac-Man while the others possess the ghosts and team up on Pac-Man.

Pac-Man Vs. is a surreal but engaging experience that can’t adequately be explained in a short summary. Just trust me when I tell you that with the DS’s wifi capabilities, Pac-Man vs. would be a perfect mulitplayer title.

Metroid 2 / Super Metroid
The Gameboy Advance had great success with Metroid Fusion and then Metroid: Zero Mission (a remake of the original Metroid), so it would be ideal to bring the other Metroid games the a newer portable platform to complement them. Metroid 2: Return of Samus would probably be the most logical choice as it was only available on the original monochrome Gameboy and is probably the least played installment of the Metroid franchise..

Not only could Metroid 2 greatly benefit from a graphical and audio upgrade, but without the use of emulators, the only way to play the game on the go is on an original GB, GBC, or GBA. No DS support for the old Gameboy carts, my friends.

Super Metroid would also be also be great as I haven’t been able to play enough of it yet. Bringing to the DS would definitely help me out since my GP2X can’t emulate it well enough yet. Having every 2D Metroid game playable on the DS would be simply incredible.

Sega Genesis Collection
Old-school compilations don’t usually get much attention by the media or the average gamer, but the Sega Genesis collection was filled with enough high-quality 16-bit classics to be called one of the best compilations of all time and a much better value than buying just a few games on the Wii’s Virtual Console.

Unfortunately, the Sega Genesis collection was only released on the Playstation 2 and the PSP. Sega recently committed to moving their focus from the PSP to the DS (now that the DS is printing money for Nintendo), so maybe this port has a strong possibility.

Much like Sega did with the Sonic Mega Collections, maybe they will add a few extra games for a DS release. The original Genesis collection included almost every great Sega franchise on their 16-bit platform, but the addition complete Shinobi collection in addition to both Shining Force games would make the compilation a dream come true.

Right now, most of my gaming on my GP2X is running a Genesis emulator. But, if a Sega Genesis Collection was released on the DS, I would buy it immediately and my GP2X would probably sit at home much more often.

Wario Land Compilation
Much like MattG from PressTheButtons, I met up with Wario back when he was a platforming star on the original Gameboy. I found the Wario Land games to be an interesting alternative to standard Mario games as they included a bit more humor and puzzle-solving. All the different power-ups gave Wario Land a bit more variety that the portable Mario games at the time.

Like Metroid 2, its getting harder to play these old Gameboy games on current hardware and it’s a shame that the newer generation is missing out on these gems.

In addition to the three Wario Land games on the Gameboy, there was also an relatively-unnoticed, but high-quality Wario Land 4 on the Gameboy Advance. Even though it wasn’t promoted much by Nintendo, it remained one of the best platformers on the GBA.

It would be cool if they could package all four games on a single DS cart, but it would be even nicer if they did a graphical upgrade on the older games. “Super Wario All-Stars�, anyone?

New Super Mario Bros. 2
MattG PressTheButtons also had a really great idea for an original DS game that would serve as a follow-up to the very popular New Super Mario Bros. But instead of continuing with the traditional Mario gameplay, Nintendo would go back to the Super Mario Bros 2. (Doki Doki Panic) action, complete with turnip-throwing goodness.

Would it be quite as successful? Possibly not. But I think Nintendo is currently in the position to take some fun risks with some trademark franchises that could give the gaming community something new to talk about.

Honorable Mentions:
Lumines - The DS has the incredible Meteos, but it would be cool to have the other puzzler from Q! Entertainment that was so popular on the PSP.
Capcom Classics Collection - Another retro compilation that went to the PSP that has some great classics.

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Here we go again: Doki Doki Majo Saiban

April 4th, 2007, 15:19 Posted By: wraggster

via dsfanboy

Just when you thought we might be in the clear from Pedobear references, SNK has debuted the official site for Doki Doki Majo Saiban, the suggestive witch-hunting game that had everyone convinced that the DS had gone dirty (at least, in Japan). As you might have guessed, wherever this goes, so goes the tidal wave of rumor. Already we've heard speculation that this isn't the official site (though it certainly seems to be owned by SNK Playmore), because it seems a little risqué and isn't a shining beacon of awesome like most game sites. But here's the thing: it is risqué, as many Japanese games can be, and since it isn't after the same market as, say, Final Fantasy III, where's the need for a glitzy site? Obviously, this one gets all the attention it needs with a few screenshots.

Few games have spurred as much wanton (no pun intended) speculation as this one, and we can't quite put a finger on why. It's certainly not the first sexually charged game in history; there's a long and glorious tradition of such in Japan, a culture that embraces sexual themes in all sorts of media. Nor is it even the first or only such title for the DS. After all, many of the screenshots originally thought to be associated with Doki Doki Majo Saiban were from another SNK game, a maid-themed organizational sim with a mature look. But little details like that get lost in the shuffle, and people instead mention how "young" the characters look. Forget the fact that they're developed as only a woman can be (that's post-puberty), and the fact that adult women are often depicted as seeming younger than they are in such media. Obviously, the fact that they're wearing short skirts means that, despite everything else, these girls are young! It's the equivalent of shoving a lollipop between their teeth and handing them a teddy bear.

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Explosion of an Aeroplane v0.24

April 4th, 2007, 15:25 Posted By: wraggster

ttsuras has released a new version of his rather long named game for the DS:

Heres whats new:

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M3 Simply Loader v1.04 Beta

April 4th, 2007, 15:30 Posted By: wraggster

M3 Team update their software for DS:

heres whats new:

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Dungeon Master DS WIP News

April 4th, 2007, 15:34 Posted By: wraggster

Dungeon Master is coming to the DS, heres the info:

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Nintendo raises forecasts again following DS success

April 5th, 2007, 19:42 Posted By: Shrygue

via Games Industry


Nintendo has raised it's full year sales estimates from JPY 900 billion (EUR 5.6bn) to JPY 966 billion (EUR 6.08bn), following tremendous sales and profit success lead by the DS handheld.

This is the fourth time the company has upped it's estimates for the year ended March 31, with actual profits due to be reported on April 26.

The company also expects foreign exchange profits to reach JPY 20 billion (EUR 125m), rather than the JPY 10 billion (EUR 62m) loss previously forecast.

Following the announcement shares outperformed the Nikkei average, closing at JPY 34,350, up 2.1 per cent.

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Wii Zapper Hits Gamestop

April 5th, 2007, 20:13 Posted By: Shrygue

via Joystiq



With the announcement of Resident Evil 4 and Umbrella Chronicles for the Wii, coupled with the still unreleased Virtual Console titles Duck Hunt and Hogan's Alley, it's time to start asking, "Where's the Wii Zapper?" Gamestop has listed the Wii Blaster for $20 and what we strongly believe to be a placeholder date of May 1. Although, this isn't necessarily the most improbable date with the Resident Evil games expected to have a summer release.

The Gamestop listing has no photo of the what the Zapper Blaster looks like now. The last time we saw her she was behind glass at E3 with a "work in progress" sign. We're really looking forward to having a gun, these first-person shooters just don't feel natural with a Wiimote. Now give us a game that allows for dual wielding Blasters and that's a guaranteed $50 going to that publisher!

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Nintendo to offer USB storage solution soon?

April 5th, 2007, 21:44 Posted By: Shrygue

via Nintendo Wii Fanboy




eSOL, a company that offers engineering solutions for companies that look to outsource that stuff, have just announced that Nintendo is using their "PrFILE2" FAT file system and "PrUSB/Host" USB host stack middleware products. What does this mean for us? Well, it could mean plenty of things.

First of all, each technology allows for a different aspect of the Wii to be utilized. The company's "PrFILE2" file system provides "file management functions which read and write data of theSD memory card, as well as other media." This could mean any number of things; Nintendo could even see eSOL's middleware tech as allowing faster read and write speeds to the SD card slot on the Wii. Nintendo could also have plans for using the file system as apart of a future add-on for the system. Really, speculation is the only thing to reign here.

eSOL's "PrUSB" USB Host stack is where we think this story gets more interesting. In adding their tech for more USB functionality in the Wii, it's possible Nintendo could be looking to issue their own USB HDDs down the road. Or, they could have ideas for other peripherals. Again, speculation is the name of the game here.

Finally, our hopes and dreams of Nintendo performing a system update on everyone's Wii, allowing for support of third-party USB HDDs, gain some more credibility. What else would Nintendo be acquiring eSOL's USB tech for? Certainly this is the most far-fetched idea of ours, as if anyone is going to make a profit on adding the functionality for USB HDD support on the Wii, it's going to be Nintendo.


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Brothers in Arms declares war on Wii and DS

April 5th, 2007, 21:47 Posted By: wraggster

WWII FPS series, Brothers in Arms, is on its way to Wii and DS and we have the first shots of the game running on the two-screen handheld.

These episodes of the series will follow Sergeants Baker and Hartsock as they lead their squad of paratroopers during the chaotic Normandy invasion.

Obviously, aiming on the Wii version, titled Brothers in Arms: Double Time, is done with the Wii Remote, but more interestingly you will be moving the Remote to make hand signals to squad mates to communicate during the heat of battle.

Brothers in Arms DS has you using the stylus to aim, similarly to Metroid Prime Hunters - which is currently the shooter to beat.

But these DS shots, which show a mix of shooting and driving action, are looking promising.

Look out for BiA DS in Summer, and the Wii version a few months later in Autumn.

Screens Here

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Brothers in Arms declares war on Wii and DS

April 5th, 2007, 21:47 Posted By: wraggster

WWII FPS series, Brothers in Arms, is on its way to Wii and DS and we have the first shots of the game running on the two-screen handheld.

These episodes of the series will follow Sergeants Baker and Hartsock as they lead their squad of paratroopers during the chaotic Normandy invasion.

Obviously, aiming on the Wii version, titled Brothers in Arms: Double Time, is done with the Wii Remote, but more interestingly you will be moving the Remote to make hand signals to squad mates to communicate during the heat of battle.

Brothers in Arms DS has you using the stylus to aim, similarly to Metroid Prime Hunters - which is currently the shooter to beat.

But these DS shots, which show a mix of shooting and driving action, are looking promising.

Look out for BiA DS in Summer, and the Wii version a few months later in Autumn.

Screens Here

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Wiimote used to navigate immersive 3D environments

April 5th, 2007, 22:04 Posted By: wraggster

via engadget

While the Wiimote is probably exceeding Nintendo's wildest expectations in terms of its popularity among gamers, the little controller that could has also developed quite a following in the modding community -- with the proper scripts, you can control anything from an RC car to a Roomba to a software drum kit. Well now you can add research tool to the Wiimote's list of accomplishments, as scientists at the University of Western Australia have successfully employed it to navigate immersive 3D environments created by a projector and three-meter-diameter dome. By modifying the popular DarwiinRemote OS X app, Paul Bourke and his colleagues at the University of Western Australia found themselves with a cheap tool to fly through space simulations, cruise around a visual representation of supercomputer node activity, and even tour 360 degree VR maps of real world buildings. The team concluded that the Wiimote is a good-but-not-great substitute for the controllers normally used in these simulations, but at a fraction of their cost, it opens up this method of data manipulation to a whole new world of users.

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No Lylatwars for Euro VC yet

April 5th, 2007, 22:05 Posted By: wraggster

via eurogamer

Europe's Virtual Console will have to keep on waiting to get its grubby little rose-tinted mitts on Lylatwars - the game known to most as StarFox 64 - despite its arrival on the American version of the service this past Monday.

Instead of seeing the Nintendo 64 title debut on Friday, 6th April, Wii owners who fancy a bit of retro will have to make do with the SEGA trio promised to us last month: Sonic Spinball, The Story of Thor and Vectorman. All three are Megadrive conversions, and all three cost 800 Wii points. Check in with the original announcement for game details.

The absence of Lylatwars means that the N64 is still only represented on the service by three games: Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Expect Lylatwars to cost 1000 Wii points, as with the others, when it does eventually appear.

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"I'm amazed we're allowed to make it for Wii," says Scarface dev

April 5th, 2007, 22:12 Posted By: wraggster

via gamesradar

Okay, so the actual quote was, "I am amazed we're allowed to make a game like this for Nintendo Wii," to avoid the risk of misquoting Jason Bone, Lead Combat Designer on Scarface at Radical Games speaking to us as he demoed the game to GamesRadar recently.

But the message is pretty clear either way you read it - the Scarface Wii team has absolutely no intention of toning down the ultra-violence in the 'family console' version of Brian De Palma's apocryphal film.

Is the Wii really the place for dismemberment by chainsaw, lewd hand gestures and coke-fuelled swear-fests? That's not for us to judge. However, following our hands-on experience with the game at Radical's Vancouver office recently we found that the team has certainly created a more visceral and terrifyingly tactile experience than any other console version could manage.

As Bone explains with a certain relish: "Aiming a gun with the Wiimote is the closest you can get to killing a filthy cock-a-roach without getting of your couch."

Quite.

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Mario Kart Arcade

April 5th, 2007, 22:17 Posted By: wraggster

via kotaku



Down at the All-Star Movies Resort in Disney World arcade, there is one game that definitely stands out above the rest in all it's driving wheel glory - MarioKart Arcade GP. Apparently, in addition to the already familiar characters of the original, there are also some new players in the game including Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and a Pac-Man Ghost. Also the arcade game also has a camera that can take a picture of your face so that when you play multi-player, you know who you're beating or getting beating on by.

This is possibly the only reason to go to Florida

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Nintendo Says No Third-Party Wii Online Games Until Year's End

April 5th, 2007, 22:48 Posted By: wraggster

via gizmodo

While the Xbox Live service is already on the 6 million subscribers mark and Sony is aggressively beefing up their PlayStation Online service, what does Nintendo have to offer us?

The Mii Parade.

And Everybody friggin' votes. And of course, Mario playing bloody soccer. If things weren't bad enough, George Harrison, Nintendo VP of Marketing, had this to say about Nintendo's online strategy for the Wii:

"I'm confident there will be third-party titles with online game play by the end of the year."
To then add "our first online multiplayer title, 'Pokemon Battle Revolution,' will be out this summer."

I rest my case.

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Mario & Luigi take brotherly dispute too far

April 5th, 2007, 22:59 Posted By: wraggster

via wiifanboy

We wonder what could ever drive the brothers Mario to such a dispute that would need to be resolved with firearms? We then remember the Mushroom Kingdom being home to a certain princess and find ourselves thinking that people have killed over less. But, come on! That's your brother, Mario, your blood!

All joking aside, this snapshot comes from Garry's mod where apparently you can play some Half-Life 2 as Mario or Luigi, and infringe on some copyright laws. Anyone interested in doing so probably needs to keep an eye on Garry's Mod here, which all the cats tell us is pretty much their only set of pajamas.

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Nintendo launches new web game, suggests you play on Wii browser

April 5th, 2007, 23:01 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo has launched a new web-based game called Chick Chick Boom. The game itself pits two teams against each other, you with your noble chicks and Poster Bunny with his evil team, as you, in Worms-like fashion, try to take the other team out. You do so by tracing objects, which then manifest themselves in the game and deal out damage. Tracing an anvil might drop a large recliner or TV on your opponent, or you could trace a bomb and, depending on how accurate the trace is, deal out some big damage.

We have yet to give the game a whirl through the Wii's Opera browser, but how about you all?

More info --> http://www.chick-chick-boom.com/boom.html

via wiifanboy

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DS-Xtreme does everything a PSP can

April 5th, 2007, 23:18 Posted By: Shrygue

via Nintendo DS Fanboy




There seems to be a very positive correlation between ease of use and price in the world of homebrew, and the latest all-in-one product is no exception. The DS-Xtreme 2GB is touting itself as a PSP killer, featuring a decent amount of space for homebrew applications, music, and movies. It's an elegant solution, connecting to the PC via standard USB and fitting in the standard DS-cartridge slot with no extra hardware required ... but the damn thing costs $129.99.

If you're looking to break into the homebrew scene, which is actually quite developed on the DS, this is an excellent option, but we do highly recommend a bit of intelligent shopping before making your decision. The DS-X is not yet released, but it's close, so keep an out at their website for the official date and further details.

Preorder DS-Xtreme Here

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Shaky cam video of Maple Story DS

April 5th, 2007, 23:38 Posted By: wraggster

via dsfanboy

It's really been awhile since some news on Maple Story DS has hit our fine internets. Finally, someone got their hands on the title and took some video, although it is rather shaky (we know how you guys loathe the shake, so be warned). In the video, which is fairly long, we see some of the platforming and combat the game will offer upon release.

Video Here

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Cooking Navi goes high-end

April 5th, 2007, 23:39 Posted By: wraggster

Cooking Navi has been a smash in Japan, so it's hardly a surprise that the game would get a sequel. This particular sequel, however, is somewhat of a surprise. Shaberu! DS O-Ryouri Navi Marugoto Teikoku Hotel (Talking DS Cooking Navi Marugoto Teikoku Hotel) is a new version of the game containing recipes from the chefs who cook in the prestigious Japanese hotel.

We're thinking about picking up Koei's latest nongame, since we'd love to try some gourmet Japanese cuisine. But we have a concern: isn't Cooking Navi supposed to be about basic recipes and helping regular people make them? Seriously, look at those seven chefs on the box. This interactive cookbook has the potential to be the hardest game on the system.

via dsfanboy

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Metareview: Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits

April 5th, 2007, 23:41 Posted By: wraggster

In the mood for a little retro on the go? Konami Classics: Arcade Hits may be just what you need. The compilation is receiving solid reviews from most of the major outlets, and the word is that the set is lovingly constructed and filled with extras.

IGN (80/100) feels this collection sets the standards for future retro compilations on the DS: "Like any classic compilation, the actual library can be its victory or its downfall, but there are plenty of strong Konami titles in this batch to keep interest high...even if there are the occasional (and expected) duds in the pack."

Nintendo Power (75/100) found this title to be among an excellent example of a retro compilation: "The highlights ... are Contra, Track & Field, Time Pilot, and Gradius, all of which hold up remarkably well considering their age."

1UP (69/100), found the game well done, but essentially flawed: But Arcade Hits suffers from a shortcoming, and a pretty serious one at that: The games in the collection aren't really worthy of the beautiful presentation ... Even worse: Most games collected here were originally manufactured with vertically oriented screens. "No worries," you say. "The DS has two stacked screens! I can deal with a gap in the graphics if it means high-fidelity presentation." Well, better worry after all: All games are restricted to the upper screen only, meaning everything is squished uncomfortably. But you didn't really want to see those little space bullets in Gradius, though. Did you?

via dsfanboy

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Xtream Lua Dev Comp

April 5th, 2007, 23:48 Posted By: wraggster

The Xtream Website has posted that they have announced the start of a new Lua coding comp for DS and PSP.

Heres the french to english translation:

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SetDS

April 5th, 2007, 23:52 Posted By: wraggster

Gedeon34 has released a new game called SetDS

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DS-GPS v1.3 - Turn Your Nintendo DS into a GPS Device

April 6th, 2007, 00:26 Posted By: wraggster

A.A. van Zoelen has released his GPS App for the Nintendo DS:

Heres Some Screens:





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More at aa van zoelens site

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Mikami Alive and Well

April 6th, 2007, 00:54 Posted By: wraggster

via ign

Shinji Mikami was one of the main creative forces behind some of Capcom's biggest hits of the past decade, including Resident Evil, Dino Crisis and Devil May Cry. While he's chosen to keep quiet following Resident Evil 4, Famitsu managed to track him down and squeeze out some hints on upcoming projects.

After a few comments about his absence from the media spotlight (he even joked about how he probably ought to have done some PR for God Hand), Mikami was bold enough to offer an apology for Resident Evil 4 going multi-platform! He feels especially bad because he believes some went so far as to buy a GameCube just to play the game, only to find that it would be available for the PlayStation 2 as well.

Moving on to future plans, Mikami disclosed that he formed a private development studio called Straight Story in 2006 prior to Clover Studio's fall. The studio's name is taken from the 1999 David Lynch movie of the same name.

Mikami is also a contract employee (actually an "external board member") of SEEDS, an Osaka development company recently formed by a bunch of former Capcom stars, including Atsushi Inaba and Hideki Kamiya. Mikami revealed to Famitsu that in general, his future titles will carry the SEEDS branding. They will be published by an actual publishing company, although he did not give any indication that this would necessarily be Capcom.

After much joking around, the Famitsu editors eventually got Mikami to admit that he has started actual development on possibly multiple game projects. However, don't expect anything from him for quite some time, possibly not until after 2008!

Mikami is also continuing work on a previously announced project with Grasshopper Interactive's Suda 51, known for the bizarre Killer 7 and the upcoming No More Heroes on the Wii. He expects to be able to show something this summer.

Just to clear things up, Mikami isn't one of those old-school developers who's moved on to the production side of things, separating himself from actual game creation. In his closing comments to Famitsu, Mikami said that he's done the producer thing, but now he plans on being mainly a director. Given the guy's rap sheet, we can't wait to see what he thinks up next.

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SEGA Goes for the Bull

April 6th, 2007, 00:55 Posted By: wraggster

via ign

SEGA has announced its next big game for the DS, but surprisingly it's not Sonic Rush 2 or Rub Rabbits 3. Instead the veteran Japanese publisher is focusing its efforts on the classic British pub game, darts.

Developed by Full Fat, Touch Darts features cartoon-style graphics and a host of game modes, including individual dart competitions, various multiplayer options and a handful of darts mini-games.

However, what's special about the game is that it uses the touchscreen to accurately simulate throwing a dart. Indeed, you aim and throw a precision arrow by stroking the stylus along the bottom screen.

"SEGA Presents Touch Darts is a great fit for the DS," said Gary Knight, European marketing director at SEGA. "The touchscreen, the multiplayer options, the innovative gameplay and the great mini-games make it a fantastic addition to anyone's DS collection."

We'll see for ourselves when Touch Darts is stepping up to the oche this summer

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HP has gaming handheld in the works

April 6th, 2007, 01:04 Posted By: wraggster

via cnn

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GCSX Source Code Released - Playstation Emulator for Nintendo Wii/Gamecube

April 6th, 2007, 04:22 Posted By: yoshihiro

Hi all menbers of DCemu i release my source code because i've no time for finish it .

GCSX Based on my port of pcsx on PSP .

You need add your own DVD files sytem and GX suff .

i cant finish this port because i've no time but i've already port all plugins .
PAD , CD , GPU SOFT VIDEO and SPU NULL For GC .
i've fixed the memory swap too but i've never worked before on Big Endian CPU for
Converting 32Bit memory to 64Bit . so maybe you need to fixe something for the
memory check PsxMem.h and PsxMen.c , on PsxCommon.h you have already include for GC
i've already test it the Psx Hardware work . now if you have time play with this source.
for the GPU i've added the swap fonction from the pcsx for mac GPU source you need
just add your update video fonction in GcDraw.c in Dobufferswap() . all loading fonction
are on misc.c .

Good luck Guys if you need any help contact me via PM on Dcemu.co.uk forum.
official DEV of PCSX PC Version :
Write by :
Main Coder: linuzappz
Co-coders: shadow, Nocomp, Pete Bernett, nik3d ;

Greatz Of PCSX PC Version :

Duddie, Tratax, Kazzuya, JNS, Bobbi, Psychojak, Shunt
Keith, DarkWatcher, Xeven, Liquid, Dixon, Prafull"
Special thanks to:
Twin (we Love you twin0r), Roor (love for you too),
calb (Thanks for help ), now3d (for great help to my psxdev stuff ;

Peter for the GPU Soft plugin

Yoshihiro

Download Via Comments

- From wraggster

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Different colors for Wiimote and nunchuk sooner than we think?

April 6th, 2007, 13:12 Posted By: Shrygue

via Nintendo Wii Fanboy




According to a list taken from an anonymous retailer, GameFront is reporting Nintendo is set to release differenly-colored Wiimotes and nunchuks. The variety of colors, according to this list, is fairly small. The colors on tap are different than the ones featured in the image above, also.

The colors include:

• Silver
• Blue
• Pearl Pink

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Clip: Nintendo Console Metamorphosis

April 6th, 2007, 14:47 Posted By: Shrygue

via Kotaku


Derek Ptacnik made this phony ad, called "Wii Transform," about a year ago for school, leaving us with one question: Why'd he wait 'till April 2007 to YouTube it? Very cool and way better than most "professional" TV ads.

Video clip here. Leave feedback via comments.

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Three New VC Games For Australia

April 6th, 2007, 15:36 Posted By: Shrygue

via Kotaku


Another week, another round of Virtual Console games. This week, though? Well, you'll be eating eggs and hanging with your family, so you probably won't be hankering for retro gaming. Which Nintendo seem to be well aware of.

Sonic Spinball, The Story of Thor and VECTORMAN (their caps, not mine) are new today. For Australia, that is. I have good memories of Sonic Spinball, but not enough to spend money on it. Not when that money can go towards yummy chocolate bunnies.

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Wii Warm Up: Negativity

April 6th, 2007, 15:44 Posted By: Shrygue

via Nintendo Wii Fanboy


We've noticed something lately, and thought it worth mentioning this fine morning: there are lots of people talking about the "failure" of the Wii. We've seen dozens of op-ed pieces on the various things that have "killed" the Wii (lack of supply, lack of games, lack of third party support), and we see lots of rousing posts on various interweb forums about how Nintendo can "turn things around." Frankly, these kinds of pieces make us rub our eyes and make comic faces that demonstrate our disbelief. Is this bizarro world? Because in this world, we see a lot of people playing Wii. We see a lot of people buying Wii. We're watching Nintendo ooze money right now. So, uh, just what is it we're missing here?

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The Nintendo Museum: a video tour

April 6th, 2007, 19:59 Posted By: Shrygue

via Nintendo DS Fanboy


During those short six days that one could just walk up to and check out the Nintendo Museum, given that this one individual lived in Osaka, Japan, one such lucky attendee took some video of his undoubtedly fun time spent within the museum. He even brushes shoulders (perhaps quite literally) with one of Nintendo's head honchos. We won't ruin who it is, because you really need to see this video for yourself.





Leave feedback via comments.

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Resident Evil Site Opens

April 6th, 2007, 20:25 Posted By: Shrygue

via IGN


Following the announcement earlier this week of Resident Evil's double header on the Wii in Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles, Capcom Japan has opened up websites for the two titles. If you don't mind a bit of the old Japanese, check out the Umbrella Chronicles page and the Resident Evil 4 page.

The Umbrella Chronicles page is worth checking out because it has a brief teaser video of the game (the link is under the logo). As for the RE4 page, enter at your own risk!

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New FF:CC video like a date without the goodnight kiss

April 6th, 2007, 21:47 Posted By: Shrygue

via Nintendo DS Fanboy


Square-Enix has posted another cutscene from its action-RPG title, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates. The short clip doesn't have any of the voice acting that was featured in the introduction movie, but we do get to see some interaction between Cherinka, one of the game's two Clavat heroes, and Alhanarlem, a spellcasting Yuke.

The 3D looks great, but we were hoping for more of the lively combat and cooperative gameplay that was in the original trailer and screenshots. Even if you can understand the Japanese dialogue, the only action you'll see in this clip is a platonic hug exchanged between the two characters. Check past the break for video of the awkward moment.

Video clip here. Leave feedback via comments.

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Another Interesting Way to Break Your Wii

April 7th, 2007, 00:46 Posted By: wraggster

via kotaku

Even though it is already possible to edit your Miis on the Wii, there's a new piece of equipment that is available for you to import them onto to your PC, edit them, and then re-import them back on to your Wii.

Some people want to completely customize their Miis, which is understandable, but the point of using the Mii software on the Nintendo is to make them look Nintendo. That's at least my favorite part, I already think of myself in real life as a Nintendo character, so it does as a bit of a shock in the morning when I wake up, look in the mirror and find out that I'm not.

More Info

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Hey Wii Blaster, meet Joytech's Sharp Shooter

April 7th, 2007, 00:49 Posted By: wraggster

via joystiq



As we wait to see the final model of Nintendo's Wii Blaster, peripheral manufacturer Joytech is showing off the Sharp Shooter. The Sharp Shooter combines the nunchuk with the Wiimote. No word yet if this is the same method the Wii Blaster will use to form the gun, but it does raise questions about the two unit's accelerometers interfering with each other.

We have absolutely no idea if this is meant to be competition for the Wii Blaster or is just some strange thing for ... well, we can't figure out what game it would be useful in. Guess we'll just have to wait and see the Wii Blaster to help explain our Sharp Shooter questions. No word on release date or cost for the Sharp Shooter.

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USB storage coming to Wii? Not so fast

April 7th, 2007, 00:51 Posted By: wraggster

via joystiq

The internet speculation machine has been gearing up of late over a recent press release announcing that Japanese middleware provider eSol has been selected to provide its "'PrUSB/Host' USB host stack" for use in the Wii. How to interpret this inscrutable piece of techspeak? Well, the release goes on to state that PrUSB/Host provides "optional Mass Storage class driver enables using USB flash memory, other mass storage device and digital camera as the external storage."

Many sites (including our buddies at Engadget and Wii Fanboy) have used this announcement to speculate that Nintendo might be planning to announce USB mass storage support for the Wii in the near future. GamingTarget went so far as to say that USB storage on the Wii "looks like it will finally become a reality." Nintendojo hedged its bets a little more, saying, "It's not quite an official announcement of expanded storage possibilities for Wii just yet, but Nintendo now has the potential for such a statement."

The only problem is, the Wii has always had this functionality, and Nintendo has always had the potential to make such a statement. Check out this copyright notice found on the inside of the Wii's System Setup Operations Manual (from November, 2006):

"This product contains PrFile(r)2 FAT file system, PRmail client library and PrUSB/Host USB host stack of eSol Co. Ltd."

That's right ... this days old press release is announcing a feature that was already in the Wii nearly six months ago. ESol isn't announcing a new business deal or a new feature for the Wii -- it's simply trumping up an existing relationship in light of the Wii's recent success.

We've contacted Nintendo for an official comment but, based on the evidence, we don't think there's reason to believe Nintendo has changed its current position that this is something they "could" explore in the future.

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USB Wii Sensor Bar

April 7th, 2007, 01:02 Posted By: wraggster

Foobar2k posted this on his site:

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ScummVM DS v0.9.1a

April 7th, 2007, 01:26 Posted By: wraggster

AgentQ has updated his port of ScummVM to the Nintendo DS.

Heres the news:

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Metareview: Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales

April 7th, 2007, 01:32 Posted By: wraggster

via dsfanboy

We've had our eye on Chocobo Tales for quite some time now, watching with fevered anticipation that the spin-off game would provide us with some more entertainment on our handheld system already populated by other highly-entertaining games. Now that the game has hit retail and been reviewed, we can finally see if the full NTSC version is for us. Not that imports aren't our thing, mind you, just we usually steer clear of the Square-Enix titles (lots of text, don'tchaknow).

So, what did the critics have to say? Let's check it out:

IGN (83/100) doesn't want the presentation to fool you, the game is fun for older gamers: "The game might feel a bit "kiddy" in its focus, what with those great, big, cute Chocobo eyes peeking at you from the box art. But even though the idea might skew young, the product is surprisingly enjoyable for the older crowd."
GamePro (80/100) finds the game to be a melting pot of good ideas: "Chocobo Tales is about quick and easy fun. The Crayola art style, pop-up book style graphics and fable stories may make it seem like a kiddie title and technically, it is. However, the game is fun enough that and packed with enough nods to diehard fans that Final Fantasy fans of all ages should give it a look."
New York Times (75/100) has issues with the card system: "Tales has a ridiculously cumbersome system in which you can't easily swap one card for another or compare two cards; even finding a particular card in your collection requires a tedious search. The designers would find it challenging to come up with a worse system. This flaw is surprising in a game that is otherwise beautifully designed."
The other remaining reviews come from Japanese import copies of the game, so as soon as more reviews of the English NTSC version come in, we'll update the post. In the meantime, discuss!

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Shake teh Bottal

April 7th, 2007, 01:37 Posted By: wraggster

BassAceGold has released a new motion based game for the DS:

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DSCent alpha release

April 7th, 2007, 01:41 Posted By: wraggster

kayvenm has released a port of Descent to the Nintendo DS, heres the release info:

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Eclipse Driving 1.05

April 7th, 2007, 01:46 Posted By: wraggster

Mastertop101 has released a new version of his rather excelent driving game for the Nintendo DS.

Heres the translated news from playeradvance

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Hands-on Spider-Man 3 for Wii

April 7th, 2007, 01:52 Posted By: wraggster

via ign

If you think Spider-Man 3 for Wii is a quick and dirty port of the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 game of the same name, you've got it all wrong. What most people don't realize - not even die-hard Nintendo fans - is that software house Vicarious Visions has designed the Wii build totally separately from the others and it is more or less a ground-up project complete with original content, unique controls, and individual mission structures. In short, it's different and it actually has been tailor-made for Wii. The question is, does that make it any good?

Spider-Man 3 for Wii does share something in common with its next-generation counterparts: they both follow the general story arch of the upcoming feature film directed by Sam Raimi. To that end, Spidey will don the black suit and battle against such foes as the Sandman and the New Goblin (hey, that's what he's called, from what we can tell.) But whereas the other titles set you on a somewhat linear story path and only enable you to wear the black suit during certain missions, you can go dark at any point in the Wii version of the title. There will, however, be consequences, which we'll get to below. In addition to the primary story arch, the Wii game boasts three additional tales with more enemies. In one, you'll fight against Morbius and in another you'll come face-to-face with Shriek. Oh, and the Lizard is waiting to eat Spidey for lunch, too. Vicarious Visions called in all the original actors to record original voice-work for the title.

Full Article

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Spider-Man 3 DS Hands-on

April 7th, 2007, 01:55 Posted By: wraggster

via ign

- When a system's only a little more than two years old and there are already three games in a particular franchise, when you're set to release a fourth game in a series you're going to have to do something to really make it stand out. And that's what Vicarious Visions is setting out to do with Spider-Man 3 on the Nintendo DS. The studio kicked the franchise off onto the Nintendo DS as a launch title in Spider-Man 2, and then followed up a few months later with Ultimate Spider-Man. Handing the reigns over to another development studio for last Christmas' release of Spider-Man: Battle for New York let Vicarious relax a bit and rethink a few things in prepararation for the huge push for Spider-Man 3.

The team's working on all sorts of Spider-Man 3 games: designs for the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Game Boy Advance, and, of course, the Nintendo DS. Just last week we had the opportunity to sit down with the dual-screen edition due out at the end of April, and so far we like the direction the game's going.

If you're familiar with the Nintendo DS version of Ultimate Spider-Man, you'd remember that, while half the game played like a traditional side-scrolling Spider-Man experience, the other half went in a new direction with full touch-screen support. Using the stylus, players needed operated Venom's tendrils, giving players precise control over attacks and specific actions. This design direction was a sound one even with its little quirks, and it's pretty much a part of the foundation for what's been built for Spider-Man 3.

For the upcoming movie tie-in on the Nintendo DS, the entire gameplay is touch-screen focused. With the D-pad under one thumb and the stylus in the other hand, players now take control of Spider-Man in a whole new way. The gameplay is very similar to the previous two Spider-Man games from Vicarious Visions; though the designers opened up exploration with a more free-form level structure, don't expect the same "go anywhere" city exploration of the console games. The same on-rails 3D design from the previous DS games is being employed in this sequel. The difference is in how players command Spidey.

In screenshots, the lower screen seems a little bare. Nothing but a bit of graphical webbing on a black screen. There's a reason for that: all of the action takes place on the upper-screen, with the lower touch-sensitive display handling all of the player's inputs. Spidey's attacks are all handled by swipes of the stylus: quickly slide the stylus in the direction of the enemy will have Spider-Man punch or kick the enemy in that direction. Swipe the stylus upwards for an uppercut, downwards for a lower attack. Double-tapping the screen will have Spidey shoot off a bit of webbing in that relative location on the upper-screen, so now you have absolute precision on where you'll be able to thwip some thread. Entangle an enemy and you can draw a circle on the touch-screen to "rodeo throw" the enemy.

All this might sound "clunky" in text, but believe it -- after a few minutes in the game, you'll find this control scheme actually works. The developers added a decent combat system that encourages players to string together attacks using the touch-screen swiping control. You can pull off some pretty slick and satisfying moves: punch an enemy then uppercut him into the air, and while he floats helplessly in a lazy arch you can either leap up, catch and throw him to the ground or whip some webbing and pull him back down for some additional damage. While this is going on, a combo counter's keeping track of how many hits you're getting in.

Even with action buttons out of the picture, you still have the same control over Spider-Man as you did in the previous DS games. Pushing up will have him jump...his webswinging's automatic now as players move left or right in the environments. There's still plenty of wall-crawling through internal and external levels, all handled through tight D-pad control.

The visuals return to Spider-Man 2's more "realistic" look versus the team's toon-shaded look for Ultimate Spider-Man. In Spider-Man 3, though, cityscapes look far more detailed with more attention paid to background elements as well as a more dynamic camera. Even though the levels follow a rigid side-scrolling path, the camera gives the action more flow and the illusion of freedom as it swoops high, low, and everywhere in between as Spider-Man moves through the environments. Even the characters have been given an extra jolt of life -- Spider-Man in particular leaps around with incredible grace and style in fresh animation cycles.

The final version of the game will feature some multiplayer competition mode between DS systems, though in our early playtest this mode wasn't functioning. We did get a chance to see and play as Spider-Man in his new black suit, which gives him additional power and techniques when he changes into it.

Check out new screens of Spider-Man 3 running on the Nintendo DS by hitting the link below. And don't forget to check out our video interview with Karthik Bala of Vicarious Visions, who talks about the trials and tribulations of the Nintendo DS project.

We'll have more on the game as we get closer to the game's release date.

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Heroes of Mana Hands-On

April 7th, 2007, 01:56 Posted By: wraggster

via ign

The World of Mana is back again on Nintendo DS, and this time it's taking a very unconventional form. While the franchise has looked to evolve itself with every iteration, series creator Koichi Ishii is bringing the Mana world down a fairly-uncharted path for Nintendo's touch-screen handheld, as Heroes of Mana will land later this Summer as DS's first full-fledged real-time strategy game. We've just recently been given a chance to go hands-on with the game in its first English build (Heroes of Mana is already available in Japan), and are already beginning to go through DS-RTS withdrawal, as Heroes of Mana brings the familiar world-management genre to the DS in an impressive fashion.

If you've been paying attention to the World of Mana series over the last few years, chances are you're familiar with the franchise's evolutionary behavior. The World of Mana games began nearly two decades ago on the Super NES with Secret of Mana, and have since evolved over the years to deliver a different overall experience at every turn, on every system. For handheld gamers, Sword of Mana brought the series into a somewhat-familiar genre, as the action-RPG transformed into a dungeon-crawling adventure. On DS, Children of Mana has again taken the series one step further, progressing into an even more serialized hack n' slash game, implementing four player multiplayer and random dungeons to give the Mana series a more casual, social feel. So while the gameplay elements change over the years, the spirit of the franchise stays in tact: Thus is the feeling with Heroes of Mana.

Heroes of Mana is a full-fledged RTS title for DS based entirely on the pre-existing World of Mana franchise. The story follows a soldier of Pedda by the name of Roget while he's on a reconnaissance mission to Ferolia with his comrades. When their aircraft is shot down by an enemy (and abandoned by their carrier), the crew soon-realizes that the mission was merely a plot by their own commanding officers to eliminate them. Pedda is looking to dominate the world, and Ferolia is merely the first step. Seeing the chaos caused by the Peddan army, Roget and his crew go rouge, forced to fight against their own people in an attempt to restore peace to the land.

And with that, Heroes of Mana drops players in to the action. The game is set up like any other traditional real-time strategy game, putting players in control of Roget's crew as they battle from region to region in an attempt to destroy the Peddan army. Though the bulk of the game deals with RTS missions, there's also a very deep story focused around Roget's crew, as players will need to create allies to join forces with, equip and upgrade their heroes, and outfit their army with items, weapons, and abilities necessary for success. Heroes of Mana is one part RTS, and one part strategy/RPG.

Still, the bulk of the action takes place on the battlefield, and that's where our hands-on demo focused its time. Whether you're playing through the main campaign or against a friend via DS wireless connection, the premise is still the same. Players will start each match next to their ship (The Nightswan; a flying fortress and home base), and from there build training and technology buildings, gather resources, spawn fighters, and wipe out the competition. To keep the battlefield from getting cluttered all buildings are actually kept inside the Nightswan, so players will move from managing a mini-map, the main playfield, and the inside of the ship. Basic controls work like any traditional RTS, having the stylus act as a mouse to grab units, select attackable targets, or chose rally points for soldiers to move to.

To keep the feeling as close to PC real-time games as possible, developer Brownie Brown included full-touch control, so taping units, managing resources, selecting groups of units based on class or type, or actually highlighting huge masses of troops is all done with the stylus. If one unit is needed, simply touch it. If you want to grab all ground, air, heavy, or ranged units, on-screen icons can be brought up for quicker unit management. In addition, a tap of the selection tool turns the stylus into a unit-circling tool, allowing the player to draw any shape on-screen to surround friendly units all at once. All of the unit selecting and troop movement is very simple, and with the combination of the d-pad for screen movement and the stylus for all direct-control Heroes of Mana is quick and intuitive.

As for the in-game specifics, Heroes of Mana allows for each player to create and deploy up to 25 units at a time. Each of the units is based on the classic rock/paper/scissors style of gameplay, so ground units will destroy ranged, ranged will obliterate air, and air will have the advantage over ground. Strategy comes into play when players progress their town's tech tree, upgrading units and gaining strategic advantages based on the map's topography. There are over 20 maps to play through in the multiplayer mode, ranging from smaller skirmish levels, medium sized areas, and vast battlefields. Depending on the size of the map, each commander will select a certain number of heroes to bring to the fight, with the option of equipping them with any items found in the single-player game. This does mean that the gameplay is multi-cart only, however, as you'll only be able to play with the skills, items, and heroes that you've found in the campaign mode.

Along with troop deployment and management, Heroes of Mana brings a ton of familiar aspects of the RTS genre to DS owners. You'll have full use of a mini-map, which takes up the bulk of the top screen during play. At any point, however, one touch of an on-screen icon will switch the top and bottom screen, so quick utilization of the mini-map can be pulled off at any time. Commanders will also have to work around the familiar "fog of war", making it impossible to see enemy units until coming into direct contact with them. And when you're out of options and need to create a turn-around attack, players can summon up to eight different elemental attacks that push the game into a full CG sequence which results in a catastrophic magical attack across the world. Not bad at all.

From what we played, Heroes of Mana is a deep and engaging real-time strategy that walks the line of being casual enough for newcomers, but also deep enough for seriously hardcore battles. Direct vs. competition is found only with local wireless, though a worldwide ranking system is included for Nintendo's Wi-Fi connection, allowing gamers to compare win/loss records, achieving new items and bonuses for climbing the ranks. As far as the visuals go, Heroes of Mana is pushing a ton of on-screen action, so the framerate is a bit on the slow side, and many of the sprites looks more along the lines of the GBA game Sword of Mana. Still, Heroes of Mana has a great style, it's a ton of fun, and has an amazing amount of depth from what we can tell. We're anxious to get into the single player guts of the game, though that'll come as we near the game's late Summer launch. After just an hour with the game though, we can tell you we're having a blast with Square's latest DS endeavor, and are already hooked on Heroes of Mana.

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MK6-Motion Announced - DS Flash Cart with Motion Built in

April 7th, 2007, 02:40 Posted By: wraggster

News from drNeo of a new DS Flash Cart with built in Motion sensor, now play games like you do with a wiimote, revolutionary for the Homebrew scene

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NEO Spring Compo 2007! Results

April 7th, 2007, 02:52 Posted By: wraggster

DrNeo has released the results of the NEO Spring Compo 2007!, this competition is the premier coders competition for the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP Homebrew Scenes and this year saw a massive 55 entries.

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Heres the results:

PSP-App-Division

1 AFKIM3 By: danzel
2 Old School Library (OSLib) Sprites Lib By: phosphorous
3 ThemeFlasher By: ai3gtmc
4 PUNANI v1.0 By: hallo007
5 metronomPSP By: saulotmalo
6 COW TIPS By: Sektor
7 Sheep Machine By: miNi

PSP-Game-Division

1 Will Hexaxis XXI be ready By: darksoft
2 GoGo Goo - by BennyRebirth & Dalk By: bennyrebirth
3 Cspsp v1.2 By: nataku92
4 Pokemon Keeper By: N64Francois
5 Space Escape By: Grimfate126
6 Call of Duty 2 - PSP Edition v1.0 By: sg57
7 Bumper Car Mayhem By: Fuzzie 360
8 Pro Foosball V0.1 By: Madcupid
9 Legacy By: psp_jono
10 Zlink By: rattmuffen

NDS-App-Division

1 Beup Live 0.3d By: HtheB
2 Phidias By: Tassu
3 StyxDS v0.2 By: redbug
4 IRCDS 0.3d By: freemaan
5 DSPad By: ced
5 μLibrary By: Brunni
6 DSPhoto 1.0 By: Arialia
7 Pictoblog By: 0xtob
8 MapViewerDS By: mollusk
9 Binary Clock By: mastertop101

NDS-Game-Division

1 WolveSlayer By: Payk
2 Warcraft : Tower Defense By: Noda
3 08. VIRUS DS By: kukulcan
4 War of the Weeds By: mollusk
5 Duke3DS By: GPF
6 Blubb 3D By: qwrty
7 BANJO ADVANCE V2 : Kazooie Rescue By: omg
7 Touchdown! The Alien Attack By: Sweater Fish Deluxe
8 Earth Invaders 0 By: smealum
9 SensitiveDS By: spinal
10 NDS SPORTS By: Davgav

Not to brag but i choosed all 4 winning entrys, glad to see the others agreed with me.

Thanks to Neoflash for an excellent competition, for all of you winners and runners up check out Neoflash, congrats to all who have won prizes

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New Wiimote charger has underbody neon

April 7th, 2007, 16:22 Posted By: Shrygue

via Nintendo Wii Fanboy




The most obvious feature of PEGA's Blue Light Stand is the blue light, which is for the Wii owner who, maybe, hasn't gotten enough attention for the fact that they own a Wii. Or, alternately, for people who frequently trip over their systems in the dark.

However, the classy, functional blue light is not the only feature of this stand! It stores your Wiimote and recharges batteries through the Wii's USB connection. It also has a cooling fan built in! We haven't heard if anyone's having heat issues, but it happens to all the other consoles, so it's entirely possible.

Looking at it kind of makes us want to install a subwoofer or a rear spoiler on our system. Unfortunately, we haven't heard of any Wii-size spoilers, and we also don't have any retail information for this stand yet, so we can't tell you where to buy one.

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Wii Warm Up: Superfluous waggle

April 7th, 2007, 17:02 Posted By: Shrygue

via Nintendo Wii Fanboy


Some games, like the ubiquitous Wii Sports, use the Wiimote's space-age technology to closely map real motion into gameplay. This is generally regarded as "neat" and accepted by the masses, who run off to show their grandparents.

Other games, like the upcoming port of Resident Evil 4, make no such attempt to represent physical motion as virtual motion (outside of the new knife controls). In fact, some of the motion controls seem to be simulating button presses. Case in point, reloading requires you to hold B and shake the Wiimote. That's hardly more representative of the action of reloading a gun than pushing a button, or even going into a menu.

We sort of revealed how we felt there, but this isn't about us. It's about you. How does non-representative motion control affect you? Is it still fun to waggle, even when you're waggling abstractly?

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DS: GBAMP Multiboot Selector

April 8th, 2007, 00:38 Posted By: TeenDev

Here's my new simple little app that I made. It's a multiboot selector. Have you ever found yourself in the situation where one app works with one loader and another app works with the other loader and you don't want to turn on your computer and go switch loaders? This is allows you to select which loader you want to use on start-up. It's only hard coded to MightyMax's GBAMP Multiboot and DragonMinded's DSOrganize app and other.nds which could be another loader you know of or a homebrew app you really like. Thanks to Chishm for the DLDI loader from http://forum.gbadev.org/viewtopic.php?t=12906

The following are the assaignment to each button.
A (MightyMax's GBAMP loader): mightymax.nds
X (DSOrganize): DSOrganize.nds
Y (Whatever): other.nds

This will work for other cards besides GBAMPv2 but it was really only made for GBAMP. It's already DLDI'ed so just add it to your GBAMP and you're set.


EDIT: I'll add a GUI when I can find a GUI artist so if you want to make GUI's for me email teendev@tondopro.com

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Sega does darts on DS

April 8th, 2007, 00:47 Posted By: wraggster

via cvg

Brush up on your dart-throwing skills and start working on that essential beer belly - Sega Present Touch Darts is on its way to DS this summer.

Do you hand your DS on the wall and throw plastic darts at the touch screen? Unfortunately not (we'll be world-renowned games developers one day, we know it). Touch Darts, developed by Full Fat, displays a 3D dart board in the touch screen where you swipe the stylus upwards to throw the darts "with all the precision of a seasoned pro".

You can compete in world tournaments and play multiplayer mini games against friends. If only the game's title screen was the Bullseye theme tune, this would be the best darts game ever, (wink wink, developers).

Screens Via link above

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A Wii Workout

April 8th, 2007, 01:03 Posted By: wraggster

via daily record

A PERSONAL trainer is helping couch-potatoes to battle the bulge - by playing video games.

Zander Urquhart, 32, is thought to be the first fitness expert to adopt the Nintendo Wii as an exercise machine.

Four people at a time can exercise using theWii's unique motion-sensitive controller to mimic a tennis racket, baseball bat, golf club or boxing gloves.
University studies suggest players can burn 125 calories during a 15-minute session. Zander, from Glasgow, got the idea after seeing a client's son playing with the console. He said: "This five-year-old needed encouragement to do any exercise - but here he was running about for half-an-hour working up a sweat."
Zander initially targeted kids - but soon realised adults were just as keen. He said: "It's been great for adults coming back from injury and for OAPs."
Client Caroline Cassiday, 21, of Blantyre, Lanarkshire, said: "It really helped to tone me up."
A study by Liverpool John Moores University found that in an average 12.2-hour gaming week, Wii players can burn 1830 calories - shifting 27lb a year.
A Nintendo UK spokesman said: "We're not aware of anyone else doing this but it shows what the Wii can be used for."

BURNING CALORIES
According to statistics released by Food Magazine, calories burned using a Nintendo Wii for 15 to 20 minutes compare favourably with other forms of exercise.

Aerobic dancing - medium intensity, equivalent to jogging - 130
Cycling on flat ground - 125
Playing golf - 100
Playing tennis - 140
Playing football - 140