Thrustmaster intros T-Standee and T-Strap chargers for Nintendo DSi

May 1st, 2009, 15:35 Posted By: wraggster



Looking for a new way to burn money on your DSi? How's about a few new charging solutions from the folks at Thrustmaster? Today, both the T-Standee Charger and T-Strap Charger were introduced, with the former expected in mid-June for $12.99 and the latter checking in next month for a penny under $8. As the name implies the T-Standee is basically a charging kickstand / docking station, while the T-Strap builds a charging port right into the strap that can be connected to any powered USB socket for on-the-go recharging. Gnarly, right?

http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/01/t...-for-nintendo/

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Japanese Wii video service coming to other countries

May 1st, 2009, 15:41 Posted By: wraggster

intendo president Satoru Iwata has said that the Wii video streaming service, called Wii-no-Ma in Japan, will eventually see release outside of that region.

In the video announcement GamesIndustry.bizfirst reported on yesterday, Iwata revealed that while Wii-no-Ma's May 1 availability is limited only to Japan, plans are already underway to expand the service to other countries.

"Wii-no-Ma service is available only in Japan at the start, but the overseas deployment is under planning in the future," said Iwata.

Additionally, Iwata revealed that global versions of the service may include the same original Japanese programming as Wii-no-Ma, saying "As Japanese videogames, anime or manga are very favoured all over the world, we also anticipate a great possibility of same spread for video programmes."

Wii-no-Ma is an interactive video streaming service launching in Japan today. Upon release, only original video content will be available, though repurposed and legacy content from major Tokyo networks will come to the service after it has been firmly established.

The service aims to further expand the Wii's potential audience by giving those who may not be interested in videogames a reason to use the Wii. For more information, please refer to our previous report.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ther-countries

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Nintendo's price fixing fine reduced by £27m

May 1st, 2009, 15:42 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo's fine by the European Court for price fixing has been reduced from EUR 149.128 (GBP 132.767) to EUR 119.24 million (GBP 106.15m).

The fine was originally imposed on Nintendo and seven of is distribution partners in Europe, including John Menzies in the UK, for fixing prices on hardware and software between 1991 and 1998.

Nintendo said it would fight the decision last May, and the reduction has been granted following Nintendo and its distributors' co-operating with the court ruling.

"The Court recalled that the basic amount of the fine may be reduced where the undertaking has effectively cooperated in the proceedings," stated the court. "In the contested decision, the Commission took account of John Menzies’s cooperation, with the result that it reduced that undertaking’s fine by 40 per cent.

"The Court held that pursuant to the principle of equal treatment, since Nintendo produced the relevant documents at the same stage of the procedure and its cooperation must be regarded as comparable, it must benefit in this respect from the same level of reduction of fine."

A fine on Nintendo's distributor in Belgium and Luxembourg, CD Contact Data, was also cut from EUR 1 million to EUR 500,000.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...uced-by-GBP27m

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DSi Thrustmaster Strap Charger Is a Simple, Good Idea

May 1st, 2009, 15:46 Posted By: wraggster



Rather than just sticking a strap on your DSi, you could use something with a bit more function: A dual strap/charger.

http://gizmodo.com/5235611/dsi-thrus...mple-good-idea

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Nintendo: 87 Percent of Wiis In Living Room

May 1st, 2009, 15:53 Posted By: wraggster

Starting May 1 in Japan, the Nintendo Wii is getting a new video service channel called "Wii no Ma" (Wii Room). Nintendo president Satoru Iwata introduces it in a new video.

Nintendo is partnering with Japanese ad agency Dentsu for the endeavor, which is for the Wii and the DS. Instead of offering existing movies and television programming, as seen in Sony's video on demand service and Microsoft's Xbox Live Video Marketplace, Nintendo is offering cartoons and "mainly family-oriented programming" options created especially for the Wii video service.

In a video message from Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, the exec does admit that there are few programs at the moment, "but that number will increase." Iwata also announces that five Tokyo TV stations have signed on to provide continue.

Iwata points out that the Wii was luckily launched when large screen TVs became popular — giving more reasons for families to congregate in the living room like they used to. Wii Sports and Wii Fit capitalized on the idea of families congregating in the living room. "Our own research says that approximately 87 percent of Wiis are connected to the largest TV in the house, which is in the living room," says Iwata.

Wii no Ma also allows those who might not be gamers enjoy using the Nintendo Wii by watching programs. According to Nintendo, things like this can help video games be accepted.

"In the beginning, Wii no Ma is available only in Japan," Iwata says, "but there are plans to launch the service aboard in the future." All the programs will be free at first, but Iwata does reveal that down the line Nintendo is readying programs with a "small" fee — something that Nintendo has stated since announcing this project.

http://kotaku.com/5235081/nintendo-8...in-living-room

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Red Steel 2 is MotionPlus exclusive, cel-shaded

May 1st, 2009, 15:58 Posted By: wraggster

As you probably already know, the latest issue of Nintendo Power blows the doors off of the recently announced sequel to the Wii's slightly disappointing, sword/gun-toting FPS launch title, Red Steel. Now that the mag has landed in a few quivering, anticipatory hands, more details about Red Steel 2 are beginning to surface.

First and foremost, the title will apparently be cel-shaded -- hinted at by the sole piece of concept art we received yesterday, and confirmed by a number of scans which are beginning to creep onto the internets. Also, we recently got confirmation from Nintendo Power itself that the game will be "Wii MotionPlus exclusive," a phrase we can only interpret to mean "you need a MotionPlus dongle to play it." (Are you guys comfortable with calling it a dongle? That's such a lovely word. Don-gle.)

We'll let you know when we hear even more facts about the game. And by facts, we don't mean "my brother's girlfriend's sister's stepmom goes to a beauty parlor where she read about Red Steel 2 while waiting for her bouffant to dry."

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/30/re...ve-cel-shaded/

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Furyu Parodies The DS In The Last Bullet

May 1st, 2009, 16:00 Posted By: wraggster

The first shooting mission of The Last Bullet takes place in a fair. Karin grabs a rifle and tries to shoot a prize. As a little Easter Egg, one of the prizes is a “QS”.
While you’re aiming at the four screen handheld, the scope automatically wobbles in a figure eight pattern. The sight doesn’t stabilize. You have to wait until the target is temporarily on the top half of the prize, then press R to fire a bullet. Aside from the QS there are bears and cans to hit too. You can find them by moving the scope with the D-pad. Karin only has three bullets and sixty seconds to claim a prize.

Even if it feels forced, the scope shaking adds a degree of challenge to The Last Bullet.

http://www.siliconera.com/2009/04/30...e-last-bullet/

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Adventure Island Not Beginning Well On WiiWare?

May 1st, 2009, 16:01 Posted By: wraggster

This past month Hudson revived Adventure Island with a new WiiWare game. According to the online rankings Adventure Island: The Beginning might not be selling well (thanks for the tip Denpa no Sekai!!). After being out in Europe for almost a week only 54 people are on the leaderboards.

Surely, there are people who bought Adventure Island: The Beginning and opted not to post their score online, but 54 registered scores still seems rather low. Doesn’t it? Adventure Island: The Beginning was released in Japan on April 7 and it seems to be fairing marginally better. There are 259 scores ranked online which averages to about 86 people per week since launch.

Hudson still hasn’t released Adventure Island: The Beginning in North America, but it’s on deck. If the European release wasn’t a sign, the ESRB ranking and US page confirm Adventure Island: The Beginning is coming.

http://www.siliconera.com/2009/04/30...ll-on-wiiware/

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Wii Cooling System and Remote Controller Charger Stand

May 1st, 2009, 16:59 Posted By: wraggster

New from Divineo USA



You can now cool down your Wii console and recharge double remote controllers with this Cooling System and Remote Controller Charger Stand. The blue LED trim instantly brings -wow- to your Wii!

When the console is powered on, the fan accelerates the air circulation of the console system and prevents it being overheat.

When the console is powered off, the fan is turned off and the dual side docks recharge two remote controllers. It comes with a LED to indicate when in use.

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Wii Classic Linker Plus

May 1st, 2009, 17:00 Posted By: wraggster

New from Divineo USA



- Connects PS-PS2 and Wii Classic controllers to GC-Wii
- Support PS dance mat in Wii dancing game
- Support rumble function
- Programmable Auto Fire mode included

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Wii Classic Linker Plus

May 1st, 2009, 17:00 Posted By: wraggster

New from Divineo USA



- Connects PS-PS2 and Wii Classic controllers to GC-Wii
- Support PS dance mat in Wii dancing game
- Support rumble function
- Programmable Auto Fire mode included

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A Celebrimii Visits Me In Wii no Ma

May 1st, 2009, 17:14 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo’s streaming video and coupon dispensing houseplant program, Wii no Ma (Wii’s Room), launched in Japan today. I downloaded it and after I set up my room drama star Tokito Saburo automatically stopped by to visit. We watched a movie about African Elephants.

Right now there aren’t many videos to watch on Wii no Ma. There are some promotional clips from 7 Eleven and short recipes to see. If you want actual TV shows and movies Minna no Theater Wii from Fujisoft might be a better alternative.

But, you can’t expect too much. Wii no Ma is free while Everyone’s Theater Wii is not. Another neat feature about Wii no Ma is it acts like a non interactive playground for you Miis. You can put up to eight Mii’s in a room and they do their own thing as if they were in The Sims. Usually, Miis congregate around the TV. Occasionally, they walk around, inspect the Wii Fit poster which looks like a Nintendo controlled advertisement and if you make them call up celebrimiis you previously met.


I called up the only celebrimii in my contact list, Tokito Saburo. He wanted to watch the same African Elephant video again. I told him to get out.

http://www.siliconera.com/2009/04/30...-in-wii-no-ma/

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NDSi Disney hard pouch

May 1st, 2009, 17:20 Posted By: wraggster

New from SuccessHk and in many colours:



EVA (Ethylene vinyl acetate) NDSi case
Protects your device from bumps, shock
Offers complete protection, with soft interior cushion that surrounds your NDSi
Disney characters on cover

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NDSi Disney Card Case

May 1st, 2009, 17:22 Posted By: wraggster

New from SuccessHk and in many colours:



Compact design
Custom fit case providing the ultimate Protection for your NDS Lite Games
lightweight design for easy portability
Compactly store up to 6 DS Game cards

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Homebrew Browser v0.3.1

May 1st, 2009, 17:28 Posted By: wraggster

The Codemii Team have released a new version of their Homebrew Browser :

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FCE Ultra GX v3.0.2 - Nes Emulator for Wii and Gamecube

May 1st, 2009, 17:32 Posted By: wraggster

The Nes Emulator for Wii and Gamecube has been updated, heres the details:

FCE Ultra GX is a modified port of the FCE Ultra 0.98.12 Nintendo Entertainment system for x86 (Windows/Linux) PC's. With it you can play NES games on your Wii/GameCube. Version 2 is a complete rewrite based on code from SNES9x GX.

Features
Wiimote, Nunchuk, Classic, and Gamecube controller support
iNES, FDS, VS, UNIF, and NSF ROM support
1-4 Player support
Zapper support
RAM / State saving support
Custom controller configurations
SD, USB, DVD, SMB, GC Memory Card, Zip, and 7z support
NES Compatibility Based on v0.98.12
Sound Filters
Graphics Filters (GX Chipset, Cheesy and 2x)

[3.0.2 - April 30, 2009]

* Improved scrollbar
* Multiple state saves now working
* Built with more stable libogc/libfat
* Fixed rumble bug in filebrowser
* Fixed PAL sound stuttering
* Added confirmation prompts
* Fixed settings saving glitches

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FCE Ultra GX v3.0.2 - Nes Emulator for Wii and Gamecube

May 1st, 2009, 17:32 Posted By: wraggster

The Nes Emulator for Wii and Gamecube has been updated, heres the details:

FCE Ultra GX is a modified port of the FCE Ultra 0.98.12 Nintendo Entertainment system for x86 (Windows/Linux) PC's. With it you can play NES games on your Wii/GameCube. Version 2 is a complete rewrite based on code from SNES9x GX.

Features
Wiimote, Nunchuk, Classic, and Gamecube controller support
iNES, FDS, VS, UNIF, and NSF ROM support
1-4 Player support
Zapper support
RAM / State saving support
Custom controller configurations
SD, USB, DVD, SMB, GC Memory Card, Zip, and 7z support
NES Compatibility Based on v0.98.12
Sound Filters
Graphics Filters (GX Chipset, Cheesy and 2x)

[3.0.2 - April 30, 2009]

* Improved scrollbar
* Multiple state saves now working
* Built with more stable libogc/libfat
* Fixed rumble bug in filebrowser
* Fixed PAL sound stuttering
* Added confirmation prompts
* Fixed settings saving glitches

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments

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New Tracks Announced for Guitar Hero Smash Hits

May 1st, 2009, 17:34 Posted By: wraggster

Since early April, fans have voted to see which of their favorite Guitar Hero songs have found a spot on the highly anticipated set list for Guitar Hero Smash Hits. The initial votes put the original Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II on top. The voting continued this past week and established Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock as the clear winner. Stay tuned to SmashHits.GuitarHero.com to see which songs from Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s are featured in Guitar Hero Smash Hits when the complete set list is revealed next week.

Guitar Hero Smash Hits explodes onto store shelves on June 16, 2009 with 48 master tracks now playable for the entire band, including the following tracks from Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock:

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Pat Benatar - "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"
Living Colour - "Cult Of Personality"
Heart - "Barracuda"
Kiss - "Rock And Roll All Nite"
AFI - "Miss Murder"
DragonForce - "Through The Fire And Flames"
Priestess - "Lay Down"
Slayer - "Raining Blood"

Previously announced tracks:

Guitar Hero
Pantera - "Cowboys From Hell (Live)"
Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out"
Queens Of The Stone Age - "No One Knows"
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - "I Love Rock N' Roll"
Boston - "More Than A Feeling"
White Zombie - "Thunder Kiss '65"
Blue Öyster Cult - "Godzilla"
Helmet - "Unsung (Live)"
Queen - "Killer Queen"
Incubus - "Stellar"
Ozzy Osbourne - "Bark At The Moon"
Deep Purple - "Smoke On The Water"
The Donnas - "Take It Off"
The Exies - "Hey You"

Guitar Hero II
Avenged Sevenfold - "Beast And The Harlot"
Rage Against The Machine - "Killing In The Name"
Rush - "YYZ"
Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Free Bird"
Foo Fighters - "Monkey Wrench"
Iron Maiden - "The Trooper"
Nirvana - "Heart-Shaped Box"
Lamb of God - "Laid To Rest"
The Police - "Message In A Bottle"
Wolfmother - "Woman"
Kansas - "Carry On Wayward Son"
Stone Temple Pilots - "Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart"
Warrant - "Cherry Pie"
Alice in Chains - "Them Bones"
Danzig - "Mother"
Jane's Addiction - "Stop!"
Reverend Horton Heat - "Psychobilly Freakout"
The Sword - "Freya"
Mötley Crüe- "Shout At The Devil"

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Southpeak Interactive Announces Sled Shred for Wii

May 1st, 2009, 17:35 Posted By: wraggster

SouthPeak Interactive Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: SOPK) announced today that it will be publishing Sled Shred for Wii. Focused on downhill sled racing on everything from tubes and toboggans to discs and bobsleds, Sled Shred promises to give players a thrilling experience as they try and earn their way into the World Winter Games, racing with and against the world-renowned Jamaican Bobsled team. Sled Shred is scheduled for release in fall 2009.

"We are very excited to bring this unique racing experience to Wii with Sled Shred," said Richard Iggo, VP of Marketing at SouthPeak Interactive. "A sledding game is a natural fit for Wii owners, and we can't wait to see everyone using their natural body movements to steer their sleds down those slopes!"

In Sled Shred, players form a team determined to prove themselves in a quest to compete at the World Winter Games. The Jamaican Bobsled team will be present in the game's story mode to coach and challenge players. Sled Shred offers a variety of different vehicles to race, including inner tubes and bobsleds, on more than 10 different snowy courses. Players can challenge one another or race together against the computer in free play mode, and have the option of using the Wii Balance Board accessory to control their vehicles as they race.

Sled Shred is scheduled for release this fall. For more information visit www.southpeakgames.com.

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Roogoo Twisted Towers Multiplayer

May 1st, 2009, 17:36 Posted By: wraggster

New details about the game coming soon to Wii and DS:

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Snes9x GX 4.0.4 - Snes Emulator for Gamecube and Wii

May 1st, 2009, 17:39 Posted By: wraggster

The Snes Emulator for Gamecube and Wii has been updated again, heres the details:

A Super Nintendo emulator based on Snes9x, ported to the Wii and GameCube. The code is a continuation of Softdev and Crunchy2's efforts, and uses libogc and devkitppc.

Features
Based on Snes9x 1.51 - superior ROM compatibility
Wiimote, Nunchuk, Classic, and Gamecube controller support
SNES Superscope, Mouse, Justifier support
Cheat support
Auto Load/Save Game Snapshots and SRAM
Custom controller configurations
SD, USB, DVD, SMB, GC Memory Card, Zip, and 7z support
Autodetect PAL/NTSC
16:9 widescreen support
Open Source!

[4.0.4 - April 30, 2009]

* Improved scrollbar
* Built with more stable libogc/libfat
* Fixed rumble bug in filebrowser
* Added confirmation prompts
* Fixed settings saving glitches

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments

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Snes9x GX 4.0.4 - Snes Emulator for Gamecube and Wii

May 1st, 2009, 17:39 Posted By: wraggster

The Snes Emulator for Gamecube and Wii has been updated again, heres the details:

A Super Nintendo emulator based on Snes9x, ported to the Wii and GameCube. The code is a continuation of Softdev and Crunchy2's efforts, and uses libogc and devkitppc.

Features
Based on Snes9x 1.51 - superior ROM compatibility
Wiimote, Nunchuk, Classic, and Gamecube controller support
SNES Superscope, Mouse, Justifier support
Cheat support
Auto Load/Save Game Snapshots and SRAM
Custom controller configurations
SD, USB, DVD, SMB, GC Memory Card, Zip, and 7z support
Autodetect PAL/NTSC
16:9 widescreen support
Open Source!

[4.0.4 - April 30, 2009]

* Improved scrollbar
* Built with more stable libogc/libfat
* Fixed rumble bug in filebrowser
* Added confirmation prompts
* Fixed settings saving glitches

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments

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Visual Boy Advance GX 2.0.1 - GBA Emulator for Wii and Gamecube

May 1st, 2009, 17:42 Posted By: wraggster

The GBA Emulator for Wii and Gamecube has been updated, heres the details:


A Game Boy/Game Boy Color/Game Boy Advance emulator based on VBA-M, ported to the Wii and GameCube. The code is a continuation of Softdev and emu_kidid's efforts, and uses libogc and devkitppc.

Features
Wiimote, Nunchuk, Classic, and Gamecube controller support
SRAM and State saving
IPS/UPS/PPF patch support
Custom controller configurations
SD, USB, DVD, SMB, GC Memory Card, Zip, and 7z support
Compatiblity based on VBA-M r847
MEM2 ROM Storage for fast access
Auto frame skip for those core heavy games
Turbo speed, video zooming, widescreen, and unfiltered video options


[2.0.1 - April 30, 2009]

* Multiple state saves now working
* Built with more stable libogc/libfat
* Fixed settings saving glitches
* Fixed Mortal Kombat GameCube controller bug
* Fixed Zelda DX palette bug
* Fixed Harry Potter 1-3 keyboard bug

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments

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Visual Boy Advance GX 2.0.1 - GBA Emulator for Wii and Gamecube

May 1st, 2009, 17:42 Posted By: wraggster

The GBA Emulator for Wii and Gamecube has been updated, heres the details:


A Game Boy/Game Boy Color/Game Boy Advance emulator based on VBA-M, ported to the Wii and GameCube. The code is a continuation of Softdev and emu_kidid's efforts, and uses libogc and devkitppc.

Features
Wiimote, Nunchuk, Classic, and Gamecube controller support
SRAM and State saving
IPS/UPS/PPF patch support
Custom controller configurations
SD, USB, DVD, SMB, GC Memory Card, Zip, and 7z support
Compatiblity based on VBA-M r847
MEM2 ROM Storage for fast access
Auto frame skip for those core heavy games
Turbo speed, video zooming, widescreen, and unfiltered video options


[2.0.1 - April 30, 2009]

* Multiple state saves now working
* Built with more stable libogc/libfat
* Fixed settings saving glitches
* Fixed Mortal Kombat GameCube controller bug
* Fixed Zelda DX palette bug
* Fixed Harry Potter 1-3 keyboard bug

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments

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Super Mario War Wii 1.1

May 1st, 2009, 18:36 Posted By: wraggster

Tantric has released Super Mario War Wii 1.1:

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Piko's QuakeGX 0.05

May 1st, 2009, 18:38 Posted By: wraggster

Piko has released Piko's QuakeGX 0.05:

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DS Pack v1.5.2 - Arcade Emulator for DS

May 1st, 2009, 18:59 Posted By: wraggster

Copper continued to improve its emulator roms MAME Game PAC MAN and 60 other similar games, "DS PACK.

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Green Beret DS - Arcade Emulator for DS

May 1st, 2009, 19:05 Posted By: wraggster

FluBBa has released his first Emulator for the DS and its of the arcade game Green Beret.

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EA Japan Unveils Mystery DS Title

May 1st, 2009, 19:07 Posted By: wraggster

Electronic Arts is pushing the DS not just in the West, but in the East as well, where EA Japan has just announced an original action adventure game for the system. The game is called Shonen Kininden Tsumuji and promises ninja action set in dungeons.

You take control of Tsumuji, a young ninja in training. One day, a mysterious group of ninjas attacks the mountain retreat of Tsumuji, his family, and his childhood friend Momo. It's up to Tsumuji to save the bunch, making use of a large shuriken known as "Senpuuki."

Actual gameplay details are scarce, but we know you'll be exploring dungeons and using the stylus to guide Tsumuji in fights against ninja foes. There also appears to be be somewhat of a collection component to the game, as EA says you'll have to gather "secrets" from hidden places, like under floors and behind walls.

We have a feeling information should be forthcoming on Shonen Kininden Tsumuji shortly, however, as the game has already appeared in playable form. EA showed the game in January at Japan's World Hobby Fair event, but asked the Japanese media to refrain from speaking about it. The title will be reappearing this weekend at a Coro Coro Comics sponsored event at the Suzuka Circuit raceway. This hopefully means official details will follow through the usual Japanese sources like Famitsu.

For now, we have just one piece of artwork for you. Take a long look, and wonder what a Japanese EA game will be like.

http://uk.ds.ign.com/articles/978/978703p1.html

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High Voltage: New Wii Exclusives Can Handle ... Tens of On-Screen Enemies

May 2nd, 2009, 22:26 Posted By: wraggster

High Voltage, the studio behind the (latest) bacon-saver for Wii core gamers, The Conduit, says his house will show off two more Wii exclusives at E3, capable of five dozen onscreen foes, minimum.

HV exec Eric Nofsinger says they'll be showing "two big ones" at E3 - no, not that - both of them FPSes like The Conduit. In an interview with the French site Nintendo Master, he said High Voltage is looking "to do some things that are very, very rare, even on the 360 or PS3."
Some of the things we're doing with sheer number of enemies onscreen and things like that are very impressive. We've got a demo that we'll be showing, where the average number of enemies on the screen at a given time is 65. And it goes up. There's areas where you go onto a vista and there's an incredible number of enemies.
I'm not sure that 65 on-screen enemies, on average, is all that "rare" for the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, which can handle multiple hundreds. Hell, MAG is gonna do 256 of them in multiplayer. But Nofsinger almost certainly is being mindful of the disappointment in Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop's comparatively sparse zombie horde.

http://kotaku.com/5237030/high-volta...screen-enemies

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Technically, Atlus Is A DSiWare Developer

May 2nd, 2009, 22:44 Posted By: wraggster

Aside from releasing a few games on the Virtual Console, Atlus Japan hasn’t done much with digital distribution. Covertly, they were working onItsudemo Purikura Kiradeko Premium for DSiWare. Yes, that DSiWare sticker photo app.

Nintendo asked Atlus, who was a cornerstone in the print club explosion, to create this title for DSiWare. One of the programmers who worked on Growlanser and Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor actually programmed Itsudemo Purikura Kiradeko Premium. Atlus didn’t do all of the work. Nintendo assisted with the background music, but Atlus played a key role bringing blinged out frames to DSiWare.

Now that Atlus has experience with DSiWare what will their next project be? Meanwhile, Atlus USA will make their digital distribution debut with Droplitz.

http://www.siliconera.com/2009/05/01...are-developer/

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XSEED Announces Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga

May 2nd, 2009, 22:53 Posted By: wraggster

XSEED Games today announced that Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga for Wii is currently in development and scheduled for release in North America in summer 2009. Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga is the third installment of the popular action RPG and marks the first time the title will be available on a home console. The Valhalla Knights series has previously been available on the PlayStation?Portable system.

Enter into an epic tale that has endured for generations and generations. For centuries the land of Eldar has been synonymous with chaos and destruction; a place where monsters prey freely and demons wreak havoc, indiscriminate in their attacks. Legend tells of how, ages past, a being known as the Spirit King gained control of the creatures and waged an unrelenting war upon civilization. Order and life were brought to the brink of destruction, but an alliance of the four races was able to drive them back and seal the evil. Centuries have passed since that time, but once again the lands are slowly being overrun by the reemerging monsters. With the continent giving way to madness, a hero must come forth to reunite the races and confront the relentless enemy. And so the saga continues…

"We are looking forward to delivering the Valhalla Knights series to console gamers," said Jun Iwasaki, President of XSEED Games. "Eldar Saga is a fantastic extension of the Valhalla Knights world/universe/story, and will offer a unique and engaging experience that is sure to please the Wii fans."

Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga is an action RPG available exclusively on Wii. It is the follow up title to the original Valhalla Knights and Valhalla Knights 2, and expands upon the series by introducing a new online feature that allows two players to adventure through the land of Eldar co-operatively. Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga continues the series trademark of no random encounters while updating the real-time battle system to now include battles taking place on the world map instead of a separate battle screen for a seamless experience.

XSEED Games partnered with Marvelous Entertainment USA to secure the North America rights to publish and distribute Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga. This title is being developed by K2 and KUROGANE and will be available during summer 2009 exclusively for Wii.

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Giddy 3 v1.4

May 2nd, 2009, 23:00 Posted By: wraggster

Xeron has released Giddy 3 1.4 :

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Quake Wii Piko GX 0.07

May 2nd, 2009, 23:03 Posted By: wraggster

Piko has released Quake Wii Piko GX 0.07

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Wii Device Library v1.2

May 2nd, 2009, 23:05 Posted By: wraggster

FrozenCow has released Wii Device Library v1.2 :

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Goomba Palette v2.35

May 2nd, 2009, 23:13 Posted By: wraggster

Kuwanger has released a new version of his version of Goomba the Gameboy Emulator for the GBA:

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Scribblenauts Gets a Publisher

May 2nd, 2009, 23:24 Posted By: wraggster

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has announced its exclusive agreement to acquire, publish and distribute Scribblenauts, a revolutionary original IP for Nintendo DS. Created and being developed by 5TH Cell, the game, available in fall 2009, will deliver a completely new, innovative gameplay experience. Scribblenauts offers a sandbox style game for all-age fun with two styles of gameplay and more than 200 levels.

"Scribblenauts is a fresh and inventive game offering players of all ages a chance to experiment and use their imagination in a really fun handheld gaming experience," said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. "5TH Cell has a tradition of developing high-quality, innovative games such as Drawn to Life and Lock's Quest, and we're very pleased to work with them on Scribblenauts."

"We're excited to be working with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to bring Scribblenauts to a wide range of gamers, so they can play something they've never experienced anywhere else," said Jeremiah Slaczka, Creative Director and Co-Owner of 5TH Cell. "Scribblenauts is our biggest DS title to date and the culmination of our design knowledge and past experience creating original games."

In Scribblenauts, the player uses the Nintendo DS touch-screen to help his character, Maxwell, acquire the starite in each level by solving a series of puzzles. The twist is, in order to solve the puzzle, the player uses the stylus and notepad to write down the word for any object that comes to mind in order to reach the goal. Every object behaves as it would in the real world, and the player can combine countless objects together to create completely new behaviors. Every level has more than one written object to use as a solution, opening up the game to unlimited replay.

We'll have a whole lot more on Scribblenauts as development continues, starting with a new interview with Miah later today.

http://uk.ds.ign.com/articles/978/978767p1.html

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Super Star Shooter v1.0.0

May 2nd, 2009, 23:47 Posted By: wraggster

News via pdroms

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Nintendo Going After Sites With Loaders On ?

May 2nd, 2009, 23:58 Posted By: wraggster

Ive been way too busy lately with real life stuff some of it i could do without but i was given a heads up by a contact close to Nintendo that they were going after sites who hosted the Loaders and other apps that in Nintendos view are purely tools for piracy.

Recently i noticed that at least one of the sites who posted every loader release has now took them off, most likely a cease and disist (crap spelling), i wonder how many other sites have recieved the same notices.

Are Nintendo going after other big sites who post loaders etc, time will surely tell us.

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Dolphin SVN 3089 - Gamecube and Wii Emulator for Windows

May 3rd, 2009, 19:47 Posted By: wraggster

News via emurussia

Nintendo GameCube and Nintendo Wii emulator for Windows has been updated. Changes:
- Tons of progress on the DSP LLE front;
- Correct texture scaling (now works correctly when adding output together from indirect stages which use power 2 and non power 2 textures);
- Fix a bug which could keep memcards from being created;
- Fix controls in Sonic Adventure DX;
- Fix using XFB in single core mode;
- Fix OSX build ;
- Begin fixing bounding boxes, paper mario and such show benifits from this;
- Fix existenze demo! (I love this thing, haha);
- GUI usability fixes.

New features:
- Info Window added for easy system statistics viewing;
- Free Look added to OpenGL plugin! (see http://code.google.com/p/dolphin-emu.../detail?r=3005 for details);
- Experimental Wii USB keyboard support;
- Wii SD Card support (see forum thread).

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Dolphin SVN 3089 - Gamecube and Wii Emulator for Windows

May 3rd, 2009, 19:47 Posted By: wraggster

News via emurussia

Nintendo GameCube and Nintendo Wii emulator for Windows has been updated. Changes:
- Tons of progress on the DSP LLE front;
- Correct texture scaling (now works correctly when adding output together from indirect stages which use power 2 and non power 2 textures);
- Fix a bug which could keep memcards from being created;
- Fix controls in Sonic Adventure DX;
- Fix using XFB in single core mode;
- Fix OSX build ;
- Begin fixing bounding boxes, paper mario and such show benifits from this;
- Fix existenze demo! (I love this thing, haha);
- GUI usability fixes.

New features:
- Info Window added for easy system statistics viewing;
- Free Look added to OpenGL plugin! (see http://code.google.com/p/dolphin-emu.../detail?r=3005 for details);
- Experimental Wii USB keyboard support;
- Wii SD Card support (see forum thread).

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gnuboyDS (Ver. 0.00) - Gameboy Emulator for DS

May 3rd, 2009, 19:53 Posted By: wraggster

Its always nice to see a new emulator released for any system, kinda like a present for any homebrewer, anyway i found this over at my fave jap site Lets Emu:

Heres the crappy translation from the release page:

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Quake Wii Piko GX 0.08

May 3rd, 2009, 20:04 Posted By: wraggster

Piko has released Quake Wii 0.08 :

Heres whats new:

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MoonShell v2.00 - Stable Release

May 3rd, 2009, 20:53 Posted By: wraggster

Moonlight has released a new version of the Shell/Media Player for the Nintendo DS, heres the info from the readme:

Thank you download.
Please copy 'moonshl2.nds' and '/moonshl2' folder onto the root folder of MicroSD, and start 'moonshl2.nds'.

Support file formats.

Music formats: MP1, MP2, MP3, OGG, WAV, M4A, AAC, WMA, TTA, MID, RCP, R36
MOD formats: MOD, IT, MTM, S3M, XM, 669, MED, STM, AMF, GDM, ULT, UNI, ASY, IMF, OKT, STX
Chiptune formats: SPC, NSF, GBS, HES, AY, SAP, KSS
Playlist formats: M3U, WPL
Picture formats: JPG, BMP, GIF, PNG, PSD
Support DPG movie files.
Support text files.

Limitations concerning format.

NDS: Not support commercial NDSROM files.
WMA: Not support 'loss-less' and 'voice mode' format WMA files.
M4A, AAC, WMA: Not support encrypted files.
MID: Not support 'Standard MIDI file format.2' format.
SPC: Tone quality is very bad.
Chiptune: Only the first track is performed. The FM sound chip cannot be emulated.
Playlist: Support encode is ANSI, S-JIS, UTF-8, CP437, CP850, CP1252.
Text file: Support encode is ANSI, S-JIS, UTF-8, UTF-16BE, UTF-16LE. Auto detection only.

Information is displayed in the file list. MP3, Jpeg, BMP, PSD, DPG only.


Limitations concerning file with large size.

Picture formats: The size that exceeds 3648x2736 pixels cannot be displayed.
Text file: The line that exceeds 131072 lines is disregarded.
MOD: The file that exceeds about 500KByte might not be able to be reproduced.
MID, RCP, R36: The file that exceeds about 500KByte might not be able to be reproduced.

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Pokémon Remakes Take Gold, Silver?

May 4th, 2009, 02:04 Posted By: wraggster

Adding it all together, a teaser by Japan's Pokémon Sunday TV program points to an announcement next weekend that Pokémon Gold and Silver will be remade.

The tease, offered this weekend, said simply that Pokémon Sunday would have a "world-exclusive first announcement," on May 10 during the program's Pokémon Game Arena segment.

Oh, but there's what you say, and then there's how you say it. Or, more importantly, where you say it. In this case, it was said underneath two gold and silver confetti-filled balls. (depicted). Hmmmmmm. HMMMMMMMM. What could that mean?

From Bulbanews: "It is also theorized that Junichi Masuda will appear on the show to make the announcement, since he did so both last month and the month prior in regard to other game-related scoops."

http://kotaku.com/5238119/pokemon-re...ke-gold-silver

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iDeaS 1.0.3.1 version for Linux

May 4th, 2009, 02:09 Posted By: wraggster

Lino has released a new version of his Nintendo DS emulator for Windows, heres the release info:

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Balance Board Tools v0.1

May 4th, 2009, 02:15 Posted By: wraggster

elisherer has released Balance Board Tools v0.1

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Crazy Intro v0.6

May 4th, 2009, 02:19 Posted By: wraggster

WiiCrazy has updated Crazy Intro to 0.6

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X-Soft v8.0

May 4th, 2009, 02:27 Posted By: wraggster

News via Nintendomax

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Nintendo's Wii MotionPlus accessory up for pre-order

May 4th, 2009, 23:49 Posted By: wraggster



via engadget

ith June 8th barely a month away, we're finally seeing Nintendo's long (long!) awaited Wii MotionPlus dongle hit the pre-order stage. Right now at Amazon, eager Wiimote swingers can get in line for $19.99, or if you're feeling frisky, you can also pre-order Wii Sports Resort and / or Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10. So, who's down for making their controller the most expensive one on the market when fully equipped?

Update: Good news, gamers. EA Sports just announced that Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 and Grand Slam Tennis will now be released on June 8th alongside the Wii MotionPlus dongle.

Preorder at amazon.com here --> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...kiangagenew-20

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Is Monster Hunter Tri Heading Westward?

May 5th, 2009, 00:11 Posted By: wraggster

A listing on the Capcom press sight shows Monster Hunter Tri as an upcoming release with a to be determined release date? Is this confirmation that the game is coming stateside?

Not necessarily. While the assets posted at the press site and the listing itself is causing a stir about the internets, a closer look at said assets reveals that they were posted in October of last year. Capcom's Chris Kramer reminds us.

We posted some MH Tri assets from TGS back in October, remember? We were also showing the Japanese demo in our suite at the New Otani as a way for North American media to see everything on the show floor without having to wait in line.
In other words, there's no confirmation here. In order to post assets under a title's name on the Capcom press site, the game has to have a listing, hence the listing as a TBD title.

http://kotaku.com/5239798/is-monster...ading-westward

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Wii Rock Band 2 Owners Getting The REO Speedwagon U Want

May 5th, 2009, 00:12 Posted By: wraggster

The Rock Band 2 in-game music store for the Wii updates this week with an impressive 18 new tracks, a heady blend of classic radio rock, punk, new wave, hard rock and melodic metalcore.

Wii owners will get the Styx/REO Speedwagon track pack that Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners are already enjoying, but in non-bundled Wii format. Joining them will be refreshed content from Hautwerk, The Clash, Devo, The Ramones, All That Remains and System of a Down. Eclectic, no? And almost timely, as the Wii is rapidly catching up to the libraries established on the PS3 and 360 versions.

As always, each songs will set you back $2.00 USD or 200 Wii Points per track. The full listing is after this.

REO Speedwagon "Ridin' the Storm Out"
REO Speedwagon "Roll with the Changes"
REO Speedwagon "Take It on the Run"
Styx "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)"
Styx "Renegade"
Styx "Too Much Time On My Hands"
Styx/REO Speedwagon "Can't Stop Rockin'"
Hautewerk "Alone in My Head"
Hautewerk "I Know Where You Came From"
Hautewerk "Stop Start Again"
The Clash "Complete Control"
Devo "Girl U Want"
The Ramones "Teenage Lobotomy"
All That Remains "Chiron"
All That Remains "This Calling"
All That Remains "Two Weeks"
System of a Down "B.Y.O.B."
System of a Down "Toxicity"

http://kotaku.com/5239482/wii-rock-b...edwagon-u-want

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100 Million Creations Take Over Spore Universe

May 5th, 2009, 00:19 Posted By: wraggster

Emeryville, CA - What do beaked coralfish, whimsical snow globes and intricate atom models all have in common? They are all pieces of content created by players of the critically-acclaimed video game, Spore. Today, Maxis, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) studio, announced that since launching the Spore Creature Creator in June 2008, Spore fans have created and uploaded 100 Million creations – an average of more than 307,000 daily – on the Sporepedia at www.spore.com, the Spore library of user-generated content. The 100 Million represents a variety of uploaded creations including 31,017,761 Spore creatures – more than 19 times the number of known species on Earth. The creator of the 100 millionth creation may receive a NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT graphics card, Spore and the upcoming expansion pack Spore Galactic Adventures (Official Rules: http://www.spore.com/comm/contests/c...edmillionrules). The 100 Millionth creation and the entire collection of player-generated content can be seen at the Sporepedia.

Spore is widely recognized as one of the first games to make user-generated content the central focus and let player creativity drive much of the humor and whimsy of the entertainment experience. Players' signature creations are the beating heart of the Spore franchise. Though user-generated content is common in social networking sites, the Spore series has pioneered how this content is made, used and shared in video games. In the upcoming Spore Galactic Adventures, players will be able to take their customized content to the next level as they create their own Space Captain and use the Adventure Creator to create missions to play and share with other Spore players through the Sporepedia.

"This is a staggering milestone to have met in less than one year from the launch of Spore Creature Creator," said Lucy Bradshaw, VP and General Manager at Maxis. "We continue to be astounded by the outrageous creations and incredible creativity that Spore players have poured into the Sporepedia, from lifelike animals to fantastical creatures and futuristic spaceships. We can't wait to see the ingenuity our players reveal through the missions they create in Spore Galactic Adventures!"

In the coming months, the Spore franchise will introduce new games; Spore Galactic Adventures for PC and Mac, Spore Hero for Wii and Spore Hero Arena for Nintendo DS. Spore Galactic Adventures, available June 23, is a highly-customizable expansion pack for Spore, adding a tremendous amount of variety and fun to the Space game. Players can beam down to planets for the first time ever, play Maxis-created Adventures and easily create customized missions. Available in fall 2009, Spore Hero, exclusive to the Wii and Spore Hero Arena for the Nintendo DS, catapult players into the role of a fully-customized hero creature fighting to save its planet.

To learn more about Spore or to download a free trial of the Spore Creature Creator, please visit www.spore.com. For screen shots or press materials about Spore, please visit http://info.ea.com.

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100 Million Creations Take Over Spore Universe

May 5th, 2009, 00:19 Posted By: wraggster

Emeryville, CA - What do beaked coralfish, whimsical snow globes and intricate atom models all have in common? They are all pieces of content created by players of the critically-acclaimed video game, Spore. Today, Maxis, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) studio, announced that since launching the Spore Creature Creator in June 2008, Spore fans have created and uploaded 100 Million creations – an average of more than 307,000 daily – on the Sporepedia at www.spore.com, the Spore library of user-generated content. The 100 Million represents a variety of uploaded creations including 31,017,761 Spore creatures – more than 19 times the number of known species on Earth. The creator of the 100 millionth creation may receive a NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT graphics card, Spore and the upcoming expansion pack Spore Galactic Adventures (Official Rules: http://www.spore.com/comm/contests/c...edmillionrules). The 100 Millionth creation and the entire collection of player-generated content can be seen at the Sporepedia.

Spore is widely recognized as one of the first games to make user-generated content the central focus and let player creativity drive much of the humor and whimsy of the entertainment experience. Players' signature creations are the beating heart of the Spore franchise. Though user-generated content is common in social networking sites, the Spore series has pioneered how this content is made, used and shared in video games. In the upcoming Spore Galactic Adventures, players will be able to take their customized content to the next level as they create their own Space Captain and use the Adventure Creator to create missions to play and share with other Spore players through the Sporepedia.

"This is a staggering milestone to have met in less than one year from the launch of Spore Creature Creator," said Lucy Bradshaw, VP and General Manager at Maxis. "We continue to be astounded by the outrageous creations and incredible creativity that Spore players have poured into the Sporepedia, from lifelike animals to fantastical creatures and futuristic spaceships. We can't wait to see the ingenuity our players reveal through the missions they create in Spore Galactic Adventures!"

In the coming months, the Spore franchise will introduce new games; Spore Galactic Adventures for PC and Mac, Spore Hero for Wii and Spore Hero Arena for Nintendo DS. Spore Galactic Adventures, available June 23, is a highly-customizable expansion pack for Spore, adding a tremendous amount of variety and fun to the Space game. Players can beam down to planets for the first time ever, play Maxis-created Adventures and easily create customized missions. Available in fall 2009, Spore Hero, exclusive to the Wii and Spore Hero Arena for the Nintendo DS, catapult players into the role of a fully-customized hero creature fighting to save its planet.

To learn more about Spore or to download a free trial of the Spore Creature Creator, please visit www.spore.com. For screen shots or press materials about Spore, please visit http://info.ea.com.

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Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier

May 5th, 2009, 00:57 Posted By: wraggster

Newly released today:



Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier is a unique sci-fi, fantasy RPG that takes place in the “Endless Frontier,” where different worlds are separated with barrier-like “dimensional walls.”

With a mixture of traditional JRPG gameplay elements and fastpaced, action-packed combat not unlike the very best fighting games, Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier manages to deliver the kind of grand RPG experience fans of the series have come to expect.

The game offers a multitude of new and exciting gameplay mechanics that are sure to appeal to franchise newcomers.

With a cast of endearing characters and familiar and awe-aspiring mechas, Super Robot Taisen: Endless Frontier is localized for English gamers old and new:

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-3925.html

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Klonoa

May 5th, 2009, 00:58 Posted By: wraggster

Newly released today:



features
Cute, and quirky characters and beautifully detailed environments
Gorgeous, vibrant, and completely redesigned graphics optimized for the Wii
Dozens of different enemies to beat in 14 adventure-filled levels
With bonus stages created especially for the Wii version of the game
Players can choose whichever style suits them best, from the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk, Wii Remote only, Classic Controller, or even the GameCube™ controller

description
Klonoa, the critically acclaimed franchise that revolutionized the action platform genre, finally makes its way onto the Wii™. It follows the story of Klonoa and his ring spirit friend, Hewpoe, as they set off to investigate a mysterious crash near their home in Phantomile, a world created by everyone’s dreams. The pair soon find themselves embarking on an exciting adventure filled with magical creatures and evil villains. With his trusty friend Hewpoe at his side and the power of the Wind Bullet in his hands, it’s up to Klonoa to save Phantomile!

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-3bqs.html

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Factor 5’s Wii Game Finally Coming Out In ‘09?

May 5th, 2009, 01:08 Posted By: wraggster

It’s no secret Factor 5, the developer behind many Star Wars: Rogue Squadron games and Lair, is working on the Wii. The studio claimed they have a powerful engine ready last year, but still haven’t announced an actual game.

Perhaps, their first Wii game is coming out in 2009? According to Achim Moller’s LinkedIn resume it is. Moller also mentions a canceled game with Brash Entertainment. This fits since Factor 5 had a multi-game contract with Brash Entertainment before they closed their doors last year.

Considering Moller is the CEO and Lead Engineer in the Germany office we should be able to trust his word, right?

http://www.siliconera.com/2009/05/04...ing-out-in-09/

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Null DC News - Dreamcast Emulator for WIndows and Soon PSP/PS3/Xbox/Pandora/Wii

May 5th, 2009, 01:17 Posted By: wraggster

drk||Raziel a frequent member of the Dcemu chatroom has released a news update of his work on his Dreamcast Emulator for Windows and Soon PSP and Maybe Even Xbox and PS3,

Heres the full newspost:

After many many many many many months of inactivity i finaly started some real work on the dynarec.It now features a basic IL with a working decoder frontend and backends for x86/arm/mips-allegrex.Work is currently done to port the code to Wii/ps3/ps2 ( hah !)/xbox.Anyway i don’t feel like writing atm maby i’l edit this post later

*edit #1*

Note that the arm videos are much older than the psp, the arm rec misses MANY opcodes at that point.When ZeZu brings arm on par/i get the beagleboard he mailed speeds should be ~ 3x of what psp gets

*edit #2*

To give some PSP numbers, bios (menu) is up from ~ 1.5 fps to ~9, Doa2 ingame from ~0.8 to ~4.5 , PoP3d from ~ 1.2 to ~9.Only 4x more to get PoP fullspeed

Results :

PSP
(video by PSPdemon)



BeagleBoard:
(videos by ZeZu — he’s the one working on the omap front atm)

Bios



Prince Of Persia



This is encouraging news and even better that hes thinking of porting to Wii, PSP, PS3 and Xbox and also a Pandora Port is likely, Give your thoughts on this emulator via comments.

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DeSmuME v0.9.2 update for Mac users

May 5th, 2009, 01:27 Posted By: wraggster

News via Aep

A new version of the Nintendo DS emulator DeSmuME has been released.

http://desmume.sourceforge.net/

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Nintendo Download: 05/04/09

May 5th, 2009, 01:34 Posted By: wraggster

Fans of the popular Animal Crossing series can enjoy a pair of downloadable -- and practical -- debuts this week via the Nintendo DSiWare service. Whether you're telling time or doing arithmetic, these handy applications will give your daily number-crunching a critter-friendly boost. A new WiiWare game also takes a fun peek into the animal kingdom, while the latest Virtual Console release sends players underwater for classic Commodore 64 action.

Nintendo DSiWare

Animal Crossing Calculator (Nintendo, 1 player, 200 Nintendo DSi Points): Need to figure out what you owe Tom Nook or the amount in your savings account? Animal Crossing Calculator features the full functionality of a traditional calculator, including a Memory key and the ability to display up to 13 digits, adding a layer of atmosphere unique to Animal Crossing. Use the Unit Converter to turn one unit of measure into another (such as length, weight, volume and age), or track the history of calculations you've performed. Listen to the Animalese pronunciation of numbers when you press them, and watch for a favorite Animal Crossing character to appear when your result meets certain criteria. Get ready for an inventive and practical way to experience the charm of Animal Crossing.

Animal Crossing Clock (Nintendo, 1 player, 200 Nintendo DSi Points): Enjoy the atmosphere of Animal Crossing in a whole new way with Animal Crossing Clock. Select from either an analog or digital clock and set up to three alarms (with snooze functionality for those who need it). Make your own Town Tune or use sounds created in Nintendo DSi Sound, then assign them to the alarms you've set. Use the system's internal clock or offset the time however you like. Then sit back and watch as different characters from Animal Crossing appear and the color of the sky changes as time passes. You'll never miss an important appointment with one of your Animal Crossing friends again.

WiiWare

Penguins & Friends - Hey! That's My Fish! (Gammick Entertainment, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): The penguins are hungry and need your help. Catch all the fish you can before someone steals them from you. Strategy is fundamental in this exciting game. Keep moving ahead of the other penguins so you don't get trapped, and try to get to the ice floes that hold more fish. One to four players can play Penguins & Friends at the same time, provided they can handle the polar cold. The board is made up of ice blocks with a set number of fish under them. The ice blocks are hexagonal and form a structure like a beehive. The starting position of the ice blocks can change, creating different game boards.

Virtual Console

Tower Toppler (Commodore 64, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Weird things are happening on Planet Nebulus. Someone or something has begun building huge towers on the sea floor without a construction license. Your mission is to ascend each of the eight cylindrical towers, passing various obstacles along the way, and to trigger the tower's destruction mechanism to demolish the evil threat. Praised upon its original 1987 release for its graphical innovation, this is considered to be the most outstanding game from Hewson. Don't miss out on this classic favorite.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

Remember that both Wii and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit Wii.com or NintendoDSi.com.

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Nintendo Download: 05/04/09

May 5th, 2009, 01:34 Posted By: wraggster

Fans of the popular Animal Crossing series can enjoy a pair of downloadable -- and practical -- debuts this week via the Nintendo DSiWare service. Whether you're telling time or doing arithmetic, these handy applications will give your daily number-crunching a critter-friendly boost. A new WiiWare game also takes a fun peek into the animal kingdom, while the latest Virtual Console release sends players underwater for classic Commodore 64 action.

Nintendo DSiWare

Animal Crossing Calculator (Nintendo, 1 player, 200 Nintendo DSi Points): Need to figure out what you owe Tom Nook or the amount in your savings account? Animal Crossing Calculator features the full functionality of a traditional calculator, including a Memory key and the ability to display up to 13 digits, adding a layer of atmosphere unique to Animal Crossing. Use the Unit Converter to turn one unit of measure into another (such as length, weight, volume and age), or track the history of calculations you've performed. Listen to the Animalese pronunciation of numbers when you press them, and watch for a favorite Animal Crossing character to appear when your result meets certain criteria. Get ready for an inventive and practical way to experience the charm of Animal Crossing.

Animal Crossing Clock (Nintendo, 1 player, 200 Nintendo DSi Points): Enjoy the atmosphere of Animal Crossing in a whole new way with Animal Crossing Clock. Select from either an analog or digital clock and set up to three alarms (with snooze functionality for those who need it). Make your own Town Tune or use sounds created in Nintendo DSi Sound, then assign them to the alarms you've set. Use the system's internal clock or offset the time however you like. Then sit back and watch as different characters from Animal Crossing appear and the color of the sky changes as time passes. You'll never miss an important appointment with one of your Animal Crossing friends again.

WiiWare

Penguins & Friends - Hey! That's My Fish! (Gammick Entertainment, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): The penguins are hungry and need your help. Catch all the fish you can before someone steals them from you. Strategy is fundamental in this exciting game. Keep moving ahead of the other penguins so you don't get trapped, and try to get to the ice floes that hold more fish. One to four players can play Penguins & Friends at the same time, provided they can handle the polar cold. The board is made up of ice blocks with a set number of fish under them. The ice blocks are hexagonal and form a structure like a beehive. The starting position of the ice blocks can change, creating different game boards.

Virtual Console

Tower Toppler (Commodore 64, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Weird things are happening on Planet Nebulus. Someone or something has begun building huge towers on the sea floor without a construction license. Your mission is to ascend each of the eight cylindrical towers, passing various obstacles along the way, and to trigger the tower's destruction mechanism to demolish the evil threat. Praised upon its original 1987 release for its graphical innovation, this is considered to be the most outstanding game from Hewson. Don't miss out on this classic favorite.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

Remember that both Wii and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit Wii.com or NintendoDSi.com.

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REO Speedwagon Comes to Rock Band Wii

May 5th, 2009, 01:37 Posted By: wraggster

Harmonix and MTV Games announced today 18 new tracks coming this week to the Rock Band™ Music Store catalogue of downloadable content for the Wii system, including seven tracks from 80s power rockers REO Speedwagon and Styx. This week's music update also includes songs from All That Remains, The Clash, Devo, Hautewerk, The Ramones, and System of a Down.
Three of Styx's biggest singles were recently re-recorded for Rock Band, including "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" and "Renegade" originally featured on the band's eighth studio album Pieces of Eight (1978), plus "Too Much Time on My Hands" originally featured on the band's 1981 concept album Paradise Theatre.

REO Speedwagon's timeless classics "Ridin' the Storm Out," originally featured on the band's third album of the same name (1973), "Roll With the Changes," originally featured on the band's seventh studio album, You can Tune a Piano but You Can't Tuna Fish (1978) and "Take It on the Run," originally featured on the band's 9-times platinum 1980 album Hi Infidelity will also debut in the Wii Rock Band Music Store this week.

"Can't Stop Rockin'", the new collaborative song between Styx and REO Speedwagon, which the bands recorded together in anticipation of their upcoming Can't Stop Rockin' tour, which kicks off May 13, will also be available next week.

Hautewerk adds three tracks from their debut album Stop Start Again (2006) including "Stop Start Again," "Alone in My Head" and "I Know Where You Came From."

As previously announced, the tracks from Styx, REO Speedwagon and Hautewerk were released last week to owners of Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system.

This week's Wii update also includes eight tracks from the Rock Band back catalogue starting with three songs from Massachusetts-based metalcore band All That Remains – "Two Weeks" and "Chiron" from 2008's Overcome as well as "This Calling" from Fall of Ideals (2006).

Politically-charged hard rockers System of a Down add two tracks with "B.Y.O.B." from Mezmerize (2005) and title track "Toxicity" from the 2001 album. Two classic punk tracks are also on the way courtesy of The Clash's "Complete Control" from the band's self-titled 1977 debut album and The Ramones' "Teenage Lobotomy" from Rocket to Russia (1977). Rounding out the content updated is Devo's "Girl U Want," the first single from the band's album Freedom of Choice (1980).

Wii fans can expect a rollout of previously released downloadable Rock Band content until the entire back catalogue of more than 660 songs is available.

Release Date: Tuesday, May 5, 2009

** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change *

Tracks: REO Speedwagon "Ridin' the Storm Out"
REO Speedwagon "Roll with the Changes"
REO Speedwagon "Take It on the Run"
Styx "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)"
Styx "Renegade"
Styx "Too Much Time On My Hands"
Styx/REO Speedwagon "Can't Stop Rockin'"
Hautewerk "Alone in My Head"
Hautewerk "I Know Where You Came From"
Hautewerk "Stop Start Again"
The Clash "Complete Control"
Devo "Girl U Want"
The Ramones "Teenage Lobotomy"
All That Remains "Chiron"
All That Remains "This Calling"
All That Remains "Two Weeks"
System of a Down "B.Y.O.B."
System of a Down "Toxicity"

(All tracks are original master recordings)

Price: $2.00 (200 Wii Points) per track

Location: In-game Rock Band 2 Music Store (Wii Points must be purchased through the Wii™ Shop Channel)

** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change **

Rock Band 2 is available now for Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 and PlayStation 2 systems and the Wii system. The Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 system and Wii versions support downloadable content.

Downloadable content for Wii is purchased via the in-game Rock Band Music Store using Wii Points purchased through the Wii Shop Channel and can be downloaded to the memory of the Wii or to an SD card for additional storage. The tracks stream directly from the SD card for seamless play.

To view a complete list of the more than 660 tracks available in the Rock Band music back catalog please visit www.rockband.com/music. With the addition of these tracks there are now 130 tracks in the Wii Rock Band Music Store.

Rock Band continues to satisfy music fans' and gamers' voracious appetite for rock with more than 40 million paid downloads since its launch on November 20, 2007. The Rock Band Music Store allows players to preview and purchase downloadable individual music tracks and packs from the vast selection of offerings available to date without ever leaving the game as they build their own custom Rock Band library.

Rock Band and Rock Band 2 are rated "T" for Teen (lyrics, suggestive themes) by the ESRB.

For more information on Rock Band2 and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com

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Chillingo Prepping Rolando Killer

May 5th, 2009, 01:39 Posted By: wraggster

Wii fans may not yet recognize the name Chillingo, but iPhone owners probably do. Along with Ngmoco, whose most popular game is Rolando (a LocoRoco-like platformer), the company is leading the charge where organized game development is concerned on Apple's platform. And in a recent interview with Pocket Gamer, Chillingo director Chris Byatte said that the studio was underway with an ambitious new project that it planned to release for both iPhone and WiiWare.

He described the still-unnamed title as "... a true Rolando killer with a 3D twist."

Rolando is widely recognized as one of iPhone's best games. Players maneuver spherical platform characters through colorful worlds by tilting the iPhone and by manipulating both the unwitting heroes and the world with their fingers via the system's touch-screen interface. Whatever Chillingo has planned for iPhone and WiiWare will probably play similarly given Byatte's description.

The only other detail the director let slip is that the so-called Rolando killer will also include a feature that enables players to purchase new worlds, thereby extending replay value. Whether or not this feature will make it over to the WiiWare iteration -- thus far, WiiWare games have not supported microtransactions -- has yet to be confirmed.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/979/979216p1.html

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New Controls Have Donkey Kong Moving to a New Beat

May 5th, 2009, 01:40 Posted By: wraggster

Legendary video game character Donkey Kong is on a quest to become king of the jungle, and he needs some help. Today's launch of the New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat video game for the Wii console lets players grab their Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers to assist him. Players control Donkey Kong's running, jumping and banana grabbing by using the traditional control stick and buttons, while motion controls add a realistic feeling to actions like grabbing vines and boxing.

"Donkey Kong is one of Nintendo's oldest and most beloved characters," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beatprovides a rich environment that lets the great game play – and Donkey Kong's personality – shine."

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat originally debuted on the Nintendo GameCube system. This new version has been remastered with motion controls, new enemies and obstacles, and a new final boss battle. Nintendo also has added special monkeys to each stage that give tips or let players save their progress. The new controls make this well-reviewed game accessible to new players while giving those who played the original new challenges.

The goal of the game is to guide Donkey Kong through beautifully rendered stages like lava caves, tempestuous oceans and even a ninja-chimp fortress. Racing through the game will get players to the goal, but the real skill comes from helping Donkey Kong perform multiple mid-air acrobatic moves as he collects bananas in each stage. The more sweet moves he does in a row, the more bonus bananas he gets at the end of the stage. To become the king of the jungle, he must team up with animal friends and defeat multiple contenders in boxing matches.

The first two games in the New Play Control series, New Play Control! Pikmin and New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis™, launched March 9. New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is available at an MSRP of $29.99, $20 below the typical MSRP of Wii games. This makes it a great value for people keeping an eye on their entertainment dollars.

For more information about New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, visit www.DonkeyKong.com.

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Wii2600 0.2 - Atari 2600 Emulator for Nintendo Wii

May 5th, 2009, 01:44 Posted By: wraggster

Raz0red has released Wii2600 0.2 :

A native (libogc) port of Stella 2.7.2.

Stella is a multi-platform Atari 2600 VCS emulator released under the GNU General Public License (GPL). Stella was originally developed for Linux by Bradford W. Mott, however, since its original release several people have joined the development team to port Stella to other operating systems such as AcornOS, AmigaOS, DOS, FreeBSD, IRIX, Linux, OS/2, MacOS, Unix, and Windows. [1].

0.2 - May 03, 2009
4-player paddle support
Ability to set the paddle mode to use (Roll, IR, or Analog joystick)
Wiimote "Roll" paddle mode (similar to Bit Trip Beat)
Ability to set "Roll" paddle mode sensitivity and center
Wiimote "IR" paddle mode (rewritten since 0.1)
Ability to set "IR" paddle mode sensitivity
Analog joystick horiz/vert paddle mode (Classic, Nunchuk, Gamecube)
Ability to set analog paddle mode sensitivity
Analog joystick control support (in game and during menu navigation)
Driving control support (via d-pads and analog controls)
Ability to toggle color/BW modes from controller (Starmaster, etc.)
Improved sound support
Fixed bug that caused some games to always display at 1x (versus 2x)
Fixed emulation of select/reset buttons (you can now hold them down)
Added ability to display rom info (screenshots) when browsing (slow, see known issues)

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments

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Balance Board Tools v0.2

May 5th, 2009, 01:48 Posted By: wraggster

elisherer has updated Balance Board Tools v0.2

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Pokemon Classics DS Bound?

May 5th, 2009, 01:58 Posted By: wraggster

Now that Pokemon Platinum is signed, sealed, and delivered in both Japan and North America, it seems that Game Freak is getting antsy enough to start talking about its next big Pokemon project.

The message boards and Pokemon fan blogs have been set alight with the revelation that a big announcement will be revealed on May 10th. Japanese Pokemon variety show "Pokemon Sunday" revealed that it will have the scoop on a video-game related reveal. On-screen hints included gold and silver party balls that showered confetti on the stage, leading Pokemon fans to speculate that the announcement will be related to Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver, the versions released on the Game Boy Color nearly a decade ago.

Obviously the strongest rumor suggests that Nintendo and Game Freak are remaking Pokemon Gold and Silver for the Nintendo DS in similar fashion to how the teams revived the original black and white classics as Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green on the Game Boy Advance.

We have heard similar rumblings in an off-the-record basis since before the release of Pokemon Platinum, so while we can't officially confirm that Pokemon Gold and Silver are being remade, we definitely have very good reason to believe that the announcement will revolve around that specific idea.

It's pure speculation at this point, but one could expect that a DS remake of Pokemon Gold and Silver would utilize the Diamond/Pearl/Platinum game engine and enable players to catch and trade specific Pokemon only available in Gold and Silver. And knowing the status quo, you shouldn't expect a vast change in gameplay to what Diamond/Pearl/Platinum already offers. However, Game Freak and Nintendo might offer a significant "hook" to attract Pokemon fans to buy up yet another Pokemon game, similar to what the two companies did with FireRed and LeafGreen: if you remember, Nintendo made it possible to wirelessly transfer Pokemon between the two systems and gave away the peripheral to do it, free of charge.

We'll be keeping an eye on this ever growing rumor. Stay tuned.

http://uk.ds.ign.com/articles/979/979351p1.html

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When Chinatown Wars Fan Art Looks Better Than The Real Thing

May 5th, 2009, 02:35 Posted By: wraggster



Patrick Brown's fantastic Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars fan art is definitely wallpaper worthy. So is his Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned fan art. Good thing wallpaper-sized versions exist!

http://kotaku.com/5239695/when-china...the-real-thing

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EA Sports Active "a fascinating experiment" for publisher

May 5th, 2009, 18:44 Posted By: wraggster

EA Sports president Peter Moore has told GamesIndustry.biz that he's excited about the forthcoming release of EA Sports Active - but that as an attempt to appeal more to a different demographic it's something that makes him "nervous and uncomfortable as heck".

The "fascinating experiment" is part of a strategy designed, in Moore's words, to make the EA Sports brand less "hardcore" and more accessible, and will add to work already done in that area, such as the All-Play mode in last year's Tiger Woods title - a move which he is confident has helped to increase the company's market share on the Nintendo platform.

"We've made progress, particularly with Tiger on the Wii," said Moore. "Our core franchises, FIFA and Madden, we made progress on last year. We're very excited about Wii Motion Plus, with Tennis and Tiger - because we think it makes the games that much better, because the timing couldn't be better coming out with Motion Plus, and because Nintendo's working with us to bundle Motion Plus with both of our games.

"From that element of it we're very bullish about our presence on the Wii. EA Sports Active could be one of the big hits of the Spring - more than a game, more than a franchise, it's a brand new platform fro Electronic Arts and EA Sports that doesn't cannibalise one consumer. It's talking to a very unique and different consumer - a woman - and bringing our brands to places that previously, two years ago, we wouldn't have dreamt of going to.

"It's a fascinating experiment, it makes us nervous and uncomfortable as heck, but we love it. It's just so different to what we do, and all of us are excited about it. It's been a tough 12-15 months getting this thing right, doing the engineering on the strap and getting that right, working with Nintendo - who have been a great partner - I'm as excited about that as I've been about any game in a long time."

Moore was careful to give credit to Nintendo for the support shown to EA Sports over the Wii Motion Plus launch, contrasting with criticism in some quarters in the past from companies who have found it too difficult to compete with the platform holder's huge marketing spend - something that the label president says they have every right to do.

"You know what? That's their prerogative," said. "They spend a lot of money developing the platform, a lot of money marketing it. We get to take advantage of it, but all I can tell you is that they've been very supportive of what we've done with [EA Sports] Active, very supportive in recognising that we have the best software to achieve their objective - which is to get a strong start for the Wii Motion Plus - and they have the business maturity to say 'We do have a game coming, but you know, your game looks really good and we're going to get behind it for you.'

"Shame on us if we don't take advantage of that, and they've been great partners so far."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-for-publisher

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EA making ninja adventure for DS

May 5th, 2009, 18:56 Posted By: wraggster

EA Japan is creating a DS ninja action-adventure game called Shonen Kininden Tsumuji.

Tsumuji is the name of main character, a young ninja whose village is attacked by evil ninjas, according to IGN. This apprentice soon turns adventurer as he seeks out his answers.

Combat is controlled by the stylus, apparently, and there appears to be a secret-gathering collection theme running through the game.

There's little else to tell, apart from what can be deduced from a lone piece of concept art; simple, bright colours presented in a cartoon, anime style.

Nevertheless, we should hear more soon, as the game is already playable.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ea...venture-for-ds

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Nintendo World Store Hosts Punch-Out!! Challenge

May 5th, 2009, 18:59 Posted By: wraggster

Punch-Out!! fans in the New York City can visit the Nintendo World Store on May 16th for a chance to take part in the Punch-Out!! Challenge and pick up an early copy of the game.

http://kotaku.com/5240738/nintendo-w...+out-challenge

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Bleach DS 4th: Flame Bringer Ignites In August

May 5th, 2009, 19:07 Posted By: wraggster

Sega’s fourth portable Bleach game is a departure from the other three. Bleach DS 4th: Flame Bringer is an action game set to come out in Japan on August 8.

Details are still scarce about how the game works, but GM Star adds Ichigo can be powered up with soul cards. Ah, those most the be the character portraits in the customization screenshot. Plus we’ll get an early look at Sega USA’s Bleach game for 2010.

http://www.siliconera.com/2009/05/05...tes-in-august/

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Tales of Hearts (CG Movie Edition for Nintendo DS™)

May 5th, 2009, 19:12 Posted By: wraggster

New special offer from Play Asia:



Under the twin moons and the rule of the great empire, people have been leading peaceful lives albeit unsettling legends about a sleeping princess, dream eating monsters and the falling moons continue to pass around.

No matter how unsettling, people have been seeing these legends as mere stories to scare children, until the day a mysterious plague started spreading and the culprit of the illness seems to be the dream eating monsters.

Under the onslaught of these evil forces, a special substance in people's hearts, spiria gets contaminated.

The only thing to counter the monsters is Soma, hidden within the Spire Maze.

All these strives of the land are unknown to the hero, Shing until he rescues a mysterious girl Kohaku from the monsters. Together, the two set off to find the mysterious substance Soma, save the land and find out the truth about the legends.

Chosen as our weekly special, Tales of Hearts (CG Movie vers.) is available at an unbeatable bargain price of US$ 19.90 only.

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...-212-84-n.html

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DK: Jungle Beat Wiimake in June

May 5th, 2009, 22:52 Posted By: Shrygue

via Eurogamer


Nintendo has announced a 5th June release date for New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.

This is another of the GameCube remakes for Wii, following the likes of Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis from earlier in the year. The best up to now, for our money, is definitely Pikmin 2.

DK: Jungle Beat comes back to life with two extra stages plus the mandatory Wiimote controls. The GameCube original had a bongo peripheral to pound in time with musical prompts, which rewarded you with banana points depending on your accuracy.

Jungle Beat was short but refreshingly unique, and scrapping the need for the expensive bongos could make this Wiivamp worthwhile.

Head over to our review of Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat on GameCube for our thoughts, or wait a little while longer for the Wiimake review.

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Red Steel 2 trailer leaked

May 5th, 2009, 23:04 Posted By: Shrygue

via Computer and Video Games


Red Steel fans have been treated to a look at Red Steel 2 in action a little earlier than Ubisoft had planned, with an internal-only trailer being leaked on to the internet for all to see.

Update: Ubisoft has told CVG that this is a pre-production trailer, was for "internal use only" and was never intended for a general release. It couldn't make any further comments over the content of the trailer, including the mention of its "Destination PlayStation" event at the start but, as we said below, we doubt PS3 owners have any surprises in store.

Ubi's sequel is a first-person, cell shaded affair, as you can see in the in-game sections of the above trailer, and uses Wii Motion Plus for sword fighting that Nintendo Power said "finally feels as real as you'd dreamed".

Strangely, it appears to have been planned for a showing at Ubi's retail event, Destination PlayStation, although we doubt this hints to any other format release.


Trailer at CVG

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Playlogic Brings Exciting Twist to Sudoku with Sudoku Ball Detective for Wii, DS

May 5th, 2009, 23:16 Posted By: wraggster

Playlogic Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq OTC: PLGC.OB), an independent worldwide publisher of entertainment software, announced today that Sudoku Ball – Detective, the highly addictive mystery puzzle game, is coming to Nintendo DS handheld device, the Wii system, and Windows PC. Sudoku Ball – Detective will be available in retail stores nationwide June 23, 2009.

"Sudoku Ball – Detective is fun for the whole family, giving fans of the classic Sudoku game a new and unique way to re-discover the fun of puzzles," said Adam McGowen, marketing director for Playlogic. "Not only do players get to put their skills to the test with a multitude of challenging number puzzles, but they must also conquer each puzzle to get closer to solving a number of mysterious crimes."

Inspired by classic detective stories like Sherlock Holmesand the popular board game Clue, Sudoku Ball - Detective challenges players to solve a murder. It is up to the player to find the murderer, by completing different styles of Sudoku puzzles representing separate stages of the investigation. Players can search clues, pick locks, investigate evidence in the lab and chase their suspect!

Sudoku Ball – Detective consists of six interlinked Sudoku puzzles mapped on a unique 3D ball. The ball can be twisted and turned with the easy-to-use interface, and players enter the numbers by using the stylus, Wii remote or computer mouse. Aside from the detective storyline, players can also enjoy classic Sudoku puzzles and compare their scores with friends and family after diving into the various extra puzzles and gameplay modes.

Additional game features include:

* Challenging and engaging story mode with 20 levels
* Three difficulty settings from beginner to expert
* Brand new 3D ball design for a unique puzzle experience
* More than 240 Sudoku challenges using a stand alone Sudoku Ball, story puzzles and original Sudoku modes

For more information about the Sudoku Ball – Detective, please visit: www.sudokuballdetective.com. For more information about Playlogic, please visit www.playlogicgames.com.

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Playlogic Brings Exciting Twist to Sudoku with Sudoku Ball Detective for Wii, DS

May 5th, 2009, 23:16 Posted By: wraggster

Playlogic Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq OTC: PLGC.OB), an independent worldwide publisher of entertainment software, announced today that Sudoku Ball – Detective, the highly addictive mystery puzzle game, is coming to Nintendo DS handheld device, the Wii system, and Windows PC. Sudoku Ball – Detective will be available in retail stores nationwide June 23, 2009.

"Sudoku Ball – Detective is fun for the whole family, giving fans of the classic Sudoku game a new and unique way to re-discover the fun of puzzles," said Adam McGowen, marketing director for Playlogic. "Not only do players get to put their skills to the test with a multitude of challenging number puzzles, but they must also conquer each puzzle to get closer to solving a number of mysterious crimes."

Inspired by classic detective stories like Sherlock Holmesand the popular board game Clue, Sudoku Ball - Detective challenges players to solve a murder. It is up to the player to find the murderer, by completing different styles of Sudoku puzzles representing separate stages of the investigation. Players can search clues, pick locks, investigate evidence in the lab and chase their suspect!

Sudoku Ball – Detective consists of six interlinked Sudoku puzzles mapped on a unique 3D ball. The ball can be twisted and turned with the easy-to-use interface, and players enter the numbers by using the stylus, Wii remote or computer mouse. Aside from the detective storyline, players can also enjoy classic Sudoku puzzles and compare their scores with friends and family after diving into the various extra puzzles and gameplay modes.

Additional game features include:

* Challenging and engaging story mode with 20 levels
* Three difficulty settings from beginner to expert
* Brand new 3D ball design for a unique puzzle experience
* More than 240 Sudoku challenges using a stand alone Sudoku Ball, story puzzles and original Sudoku modes

For more information about the Sudoku Ball – Detective, please visit: www.sudokuballdetective.com. For more information about Playlogic, please visit www.playlogicgames.com.

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Playlogic Announces Vertigo; a Challenging Puzzle Game Coming to Wii

May 5th, 2009, 23:17 Posted By: wraggster

Playlogic Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq OTC: PLGC.OB), an independent worldwide publisher of entertainment software, announced today that Vertigo, the action-packed, futuristic racing puzzle game, is coming to the Wii system and Windows PC. Vertigo will be available in retail stores nationwide June 16, 2009.

"Vertigo is a high-rolling, adrenaline-fueled combination of futuristic racing, puzzle solving and precision control," said Adam McGowan, marketing director for Playlogic. "With four multiplayer gaming modes, this is the ideal game for the entire family or a competitive group of friends. Vertigo takes gaming to dizzying new heights, where only the most skilled can survive!"

Vertigo challenges players to take their Xorb across 54 hair-raising landscapes and nine different worlds, each with their own unique treacherous terrain and death defying obstacles. Along the way players can upgrade their Xorb, seek hidden shortcuts and col*lect power-ups to help them survive all with the goal of becoming the fastest and most envied Xorber in the Universe!

For added playability, Vertigo for Wii features Wii board compatibility, allowing players to use either the Wiimote or Wii balance board for an all-new realistic balancing experience.

Additional game features include:

* Four multiplayer modes: Time Trial, Xorb Football, Death Match, and 10-pin Xorb bowling
* Four trial modes: Arcade, Career, Practice, and Time Trial
* Fully Customizable Shell type: Bodywork and Hatch customization
* Three racing classes to progress through

Vertigo is rated "E" for everyone by the ESRB. For more information about Vertigo or Playlogic, please visit www.playlogicgames.com.

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Penguin United to Launch Crossfire Remote Pistol at E3

May 5th, 2009, 23:33 Posted By: wraggster

Penguin United has announced that it will launch the CrossFire Remote Pistol for Nintendo Wii at this years E3 in Los Angeles.

The CrossFire is the first and only available gun for Wii that has the remote already integrated into the guns design. Additionally, the A and B buttons, and D-Pad have been repositioned for easy access and functionality.

Product Highlights:
· Self-contained remote gun – does not require inserting Wii remote into gun "shell"
· Designed to create a true gun experience
· A-Button repositioned for thumb access while holding pistol
· B-Button repositioned for trigger finger access
· D-Pad repositioned for immediate thumb access
· Works as regular remote for non-shooter games
· Enhanced Vibration function
· Built-in Speaker enhances audio experience

"The CrossFire pistol will change the way shooting games are enjoyed on the Wii platform," emphasized Richard Huang, Penguin United's President. "Previous gun designs are bulky and just don't work very well. The CrossFire will offer gamers all the benefits of the normal Wii remote as well as providing a true "gun" experience.

*The CrossFire will be on display, and available for review, at E3 June 2nd – 4th at the Penguin United Booth #3029, South Hall.

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New Details and Screens for Robocalypse Wii

May 5th, 2009, 23:34 Posted By: wraggster

Vogster Entertainment, developers of Robocalypse for the Nintendo DS, today released new screenshots from Robocalypse - Beaver Defense for Nintendo's WiiWare™ platform. Robocalypse - Beaver Defense brings the tongue-in-cheek humor and zany characters from the original Robocalypse into the world of "tower defense" gaming. The new screens feature some of the level maps, weapons and enemies players will encounter during the game's frenzied missions. Be sure to download the new screens to see the crazy action in Robocalypse - Beaver Defense firsthand.

Robocalypse - Beaver Defense will offer madcap weaponry and uproarious destruction in a tower defense-style game for the Nintendo Wii. In the game, players will create and strategically position their defenses to annihilate waves of enemy robots, while player-controlled Hero robots will act as mobile weapons units, bringing heavy firepower to all areas of the battlefield. Weaponry varies from the deadly, such as flamethrowers and bombs, to the hilarious - including anvils from above and chainsaws, while scraps from fallen foes provide a variety of upgrades. Players can go it alone or take on up to three other would-be commanders in two multiplayer battle modes via Nintendo WiFi. With a story written by Jay Lender (of Spongebob Squarepants™ fame) and Micah Wright, Robocalypse - Beaver Defense is sure to put a smile on players' faces as they bash near-endless waves of wise-cracking robotic opponents.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/979/979700p1.html

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Mot Mot Motus v1

May 5th, 2009, 23:43 Posted By: wraggster

News via Devfr

And yes I am again and I changed everything.



Change log:

-All graphics are refait
-The code rewritten and optimized (following the advice of my mentor)
Everything is re-what ...


Good Thursday

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Squirm (C16 remake)

May 5th, 2009, 23:49 Posted By: wraggster

News/release from Zilog

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments

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NES Hands Free Let You Control Mario with Your Tongue

May 6th, 2009, 20:23 Posted By: wraggster



Back in the NES days, Nintendo offered up a controller that, chances are, you've never heard of before. It was the Hands Free, and it was designed for the disabled.

The Hands Free was a huge controller that was strapped to the user's chest. The D-pad was controlled by the user's tongue, while you could control the A and B buttons by blowing and sucking through the pipe. I'm not quite sure how you could hit both buttons at once, but I'm sure they made it usable.

Back when it was released in 1989 it retailed for $179 straight from Nintendo, but if you want one now you'll have to hit up eBay, where they go for upwards of $600.

http://gizmodo.com/5242463/nes-hands...th-your-tongue

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Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

May 6th, 2009, 20:44 Posted By: wraggster

Newly released today:



Get ready for a story so epic it could only unfold in the corridors of the world's largest museum - the Smithsonian Institution.

Museum guard-turned entrepreneur Larry Daley discovers that his favorite exhibits, and some of his best friends, from New York's Natural History Museum are being shipped off to the archives at the Smithsonian.

Larry gets a distress call from the miniature cowboy, Jedediah, reporting that Egyptian ruler Kahmunrah and a trio of heinous henchmen - namely Ivan the Terrible, Napoleon and Al Capone - are plotting to take over the museum, then the world.

Speeding to the nation's capitol, Larry is clearly in over his head. But with some impressive new pals, including the irrepressible Amelia Earhart, along with familiar friends Teddy Roosevelt and Octavius, Larry will stop at nothing to restore the Smithsonian before dawn.

Protect your history, protect your world Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is available for:

Xbox360™
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian US US$ 44.90

Nintendo™ Wii
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian US US$ 44.90

Nintendo DS™
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian US US$ 34.90

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...-214-84-n.html

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Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

May 6th, 2009, 20:44 Posted By: wraggster

Newly released today:



Get ready for a story so epic it could only unfold in the corridors of the world's largest museum - the Smithsonian Institution.

Museum guard-turned entrepreneur Larry Daley discovers that his favorite exhibits, and some of his best friends, from New York's Natural History Museum are being shipped off to the archives at the Smithsonian.

Larry gets a distress call from the miniature cowboy, Jedediah, reporting that Egyptian ruler Kahmunrah and a trio of heinous henchmen - namely Ivan the Terrible, Napoleon and Al Capone - are plotting to take over the museum, then the world.

Speeding to the nation's capitol, Larry is clearly in over his head. But with some impressive new pals, including the irrepressible Amelia Earhart, along with familiar friends Teddy Roosevelt and Octavius, Larry will stop at nothing to restore the Smithsonian before dawn.

Protect your history, protect your world Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is available for:

Xbox360™
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian US US$ 44.90

Nintendo™ Wii
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian US US$ 44.90

Nintendo DS™
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian US US$ 34.90

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...-214-84-n.html

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Moore: ‘We’ve learnt our lesson on Wii’

May 6th, 2009, 20:48 Posted By: wraggster

EA Sports boss says flash graphics no longer a priority – as label refocuses on Nintendo format
EA Sports President Peter Moore has told MCV that the label has “learnt some hard lessons” about developing games on Wii – as it pledges a renewed push on the format throughout 2009.
In an exclusive interview, Moore said that EA Sports had traditionally been fixated on graphics – but that the culture at the firm had now changed to best exploit the success of Nintendo formats.
More told MCV:
“You can’t ignore the guy who’s got half the business now. So we’ve had to adapt our franchises and our messages.
“We’ve been used to using graphics as the selling point for the latest FIFA or Madden. The Wii can’t deliver that, but we’ve come to learn how to adapt to the motion. We had a slow start and maybe we were leading on Xbox 360 and PS3 a few years ago and not paying enough attention to the Wii.
“Tiger, EA Sports Active and Tennis will have a strong focus on the Wii. Both Active and Tennis are exclusive – although Tennis will be on Xbox 360 and PS3 later in the year.
“We’ve built teams now that have Wii experience, they’re probably working on their third iteration of Wii games and we’ve learnt some hard lessons about how to make our licenses and our gameplay relevant to the Wii consumer.
“It’s not about the detail in the shirts and being able to smell the grass anymore. It’s about having fun and how the games feel.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/34196/Moor...-lesson-on-Wii

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Nintendo announces record sales and profits

May 7th, 2009, 17:26 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo has reported its full year financial results with another year of record sales and profits, based on continuing relentless hardware and software sales.

The company posted net sales of JPY 1.83 trillion (USD 18.5 billion) and profit of JPY 279 billion (USD 2.83 billion), a rise year-on-year of 9.9 per cent and 8.5 per cent respectively.

While that doesn't compare to the huge rises of 73 per cent and 48 per cent from 2007 to 2008, the company noted that "the worldwide economy deteriorated significantly" during the past twelve months and that "the future of economies around the world is still unclear."

The results were thanks largely to ongoing consumer interest in the DS and Wii platforms, with the various DS editions selling over 31 million units in the 12 months to the end of March this year, while the Wii - despite signs of a slow-down in Japan - shifted almost 26 million units, breaking the 50 million barrier worldwide in the process.

Key software unit sales included Pokemon Platinum Version on 3.75 million and Kirby Super Star Ultra at 2.37 million for the DS - despite neither title being released in Europe - while Wii Fit sold 16.7 million units, Mario Kart Wii sold 15.4 million and Animal Crossing: City Folk shifted 3.38 million.

But despite another strong performance in the past financial year, the company has issued conservative guidance for the 12 months ending March 2010, estimating that sales will dip slightly to JPY 1.8 trillion (USD 18.2 billion) with profits up 10 per cent to JPY 300 billion (USD 3.04 billion).

The company's share price closed up 1 per cent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange at JPY 26,820 (USD 272).

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...es-and-profits

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Nintendo announces record sales and profits

May 7th, 2009, 17:26 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo has reported its full year financial results with another year of record sales and profits, based on continuing relentless hardware and software sales.

The company posted net sales of JPY 1.83 trillion (USD 18.5 billion) and profit of JPY 279 billion (USD 2.83 billion), a rise year-on-year of 9.9 per cent and 8.5 per cent respectively.

While that doesn't compare to the huge rises of 73 per cent and 48 per cent from 2007 to 2008, the company noted that "the worldwide economy deteriorated significantly" during the past twelve months and that "the future of economies around the world is still unclear."

The results were thanks largely to ongoing consumer interest in the DS and Wii platforms, with the various DS editions selling over 31 million units in the 12 months to the end of March this year, while the Wii - despite signs of a slow-down in Japan - shifted almost 26 million units, breaking the 50 million barrier worldwide in the process.

Key software unit sales included Pokemon Platinum Version on 3.75 million and Kirby Super Star Ultra at 2.37 million for the DS - despite neither title being released in Europe - while Wii Fit sold 16.7 million units, Mario Kart Wii sold 15.4 million and Animal Crossing: City Folk shifted 3.38 million.

But despite another strong performance in the past financial year, the company has issued conservative guidance for the 12 months ending March 2010, estimating that sales will dip slightly to JPY 1.8 trillion (USD 18.2 billion) with profits up 10 per cent to JPY 300 billion (USD 3.04 billion).

The company's share price closed up 1 per cent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange at JPY 26,820 (USD 272).

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...es-and-profits

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Numbers reveal Nintendo's Japan weakness

May 7th, 2009, 17:28 Posted By: wraggster

Despite Nintendo's record sales and profits for the financial year ended March 2009, figures released by the company as part of its fiscal reporting reveal the extent of the decline in sales being experienced in its home territory of Japan.

According to the financial records, every measure for hardware and software sales - with the exception of the DSi, which was only released during the last fiscal year - fell in Japan, while rising significantly in the rest of the world.

Overall DS hardware sales fell from 6.4 million in 2007-8 to 4.0 million last year, while North American sales jumped from 10.7 million to 12.1 million, and the rest of the world (particularly Europe and Australia) rose from 13.3 million to 15.1 million.

DS software sales in Japan fell from 39.9 million units in 2007-8 to 31.9 million in the 12 months to the end of March 2009 - compared to a rise in North America from 65.2 million to 81.8 million, and in the rest of the world from 80.6 million to 83.6 million units.

The story is the same for the Wii - domestic hardware sales fell from 3.9 million to 2.1 million, compared with a rise in North America of 8.2 million to 13.0 million and the rest of the world from 6.5 million to 11.0 million consoles.

Meanwhile, Wii software dropped from 14.9 million units to 13.0 million in Japan at the same time that sales jumped from 64.9 million to 113.6 million in North America and from 39.8 million to 77.9 million in the rest of the world.

Nintendo's forecasts for total sales in the next 12 months are generally cautious, with estimates of total DS hardware sales to hit 30 million units and software sales to total around 180 million, both slight falls on the past year.

The company is a little more optimistic with respect to the Wii, however, predicting a marginal increase to 26 million hardware unit sales, and a more generous rise to 220 million pieces of software to the end of March 2010.

The fall in domestic sales, while offset so far by foreign sales, becomes a greater problem as Japan's Yen strengthens, meaning that although sales in the US and Europe might be booming, the profit margin on those goods drops significantly.

The numbers in brief:

Nintendo DS - Hardware (units: FY08-FY09)

Japan: 6.4 million-4.0 million (-37.5%)
North America: 10.7 million-12.1 million (+13.1%)
Rest of the World: 13.3 million-15.1 million (+13.5%)
Nintendo DS - Software

Japan: 39.9 million-31.9 million (-20.1%)
North America: 65.2 million-81.8 million (+25.5%)
Rest of the World: 80.6 million-83.6 million (+3.7%)
Nintendo Wii - Hardware

Japan: 3.9 million-2.1 million (-46.2%)
North America: 8.2 million-13.0 million (+58.5%)
Rest of the World: 6.5 million-11.0 million (+69.2%)
Nintendo Wii - Software

Japan: 14.9 million-13.0 million (-12.8%)
North America: 64.9 million-113.6 million (+75.0%)
Rest of the World: 39.8 million-77.9 million (+95.7%)

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...japan-weakness

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Numbers reveal Nintendo's Japan weakness

May 7th, 2009, 17:28 Posted By: wraggster

Despite Nintendo's record sales and profits for the financial year ended March 2009, figures released by the company as part of its fiscal reporting reveal the extent of the decline in sales being experienced in its home territory of Japan.

According to the financial records, every measure for hardware and software sales - with the exception of the DSi, which was only released during the last fiscal year - fell in Japan, while rising significantly in the rest of the world.

Overall DS hardware sales fell from 6.4 million in 2007-8 to 4.0 million last year, while North American sales jumped from 10.7 million to 12.1 million, and the rest of the world (particularly Europe and Australia) rose from 13.3 million to 15.1 million.

DS software sales in Japan fell from 39.9 million units in 2007-8 to 31.9 million in the 12 months to the end of March 2009 - compared to a rise in North America from 65.2 million to 81.8 million, and in the rest of the world from 80.6 million to 83.6 million units.

The story is the same for the Wii - domestic hardware sales fell from 3.9 million to 2.1 million, compared with a rise in North America of 8.2 million to 13.0 million and the rest of the world from 6.5 million to 11.0 million consoles.

Meanwhile, Wii software dropped from 14.9 million units to 13.0 million in Japan at the same time that sales jumped from 64.9 million to 113.6 million in North America and from 39.8 million to 77.9 million in the rest of the world.

Nintendo's forecasts for total sales in the next 12 months are generally cautious, with estimates of total DS hardware sales to hit 30 million units and software sales to total around 180 million, both slight falls on the past year.

The company is a little more optimistic with respect to the Wii, however, predicting a marginal increase to 26 million hardware unit sales, and a more generous rise to 220 million pieces of software to the end of March 2010.

The fall in domestic sales, while offset so far by foreign sales, becomes a greater problem as Japan's Yen strengthens, meaning that although sales in the US and Europe might be booming, the profit margin on those goods drops significantly.

The numbers in brief:

Nintendo DS - Hardware (units: FY08-FY09)

Japan: 6.4 million-4.0 million (-37.5%)
North America: 10.7 million-12.1 million (+13.1%)
Rest of the World: 13.3 million-15.1 million (+13.5%)
Nintendo DS - Software

Japan: 39.9 million-31.9 million (-20.1%)
North America: 65.2 million-81.8 million (+25.5%)
Rest of the World: 80.6 million-83.6 million (+3.7%)
Nintendo Wii - Hardware

Japan: 3.9 million-2.1 million (-46.2%)
North America: 8.2 million-13.0 million (+58.5%)
Rest of the World: 6.5 million-11.0 million (+69.2%)
Nintendo Wii - Software

Japan: 14.9 million-13.0 million (-12.8%)
North America: 64.9 million-113.6 million (+75.0%)
Rest of the World: 39.8 million-77.9 million (+95.7%)

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...japan-weakness

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SEGA's Virtua Tennis 2009 slips to June

May 7th, 2009, 17:38 Posted By: wraggster

SEGA forum admin RubyEclipse claims Virtua Tennis 2009 has been pushed back a month to June.

The thread says polishing the Wii version, which features Wii MotionPlus controls, is the reason for the delay. The new US target for all versions - PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 - is 2nd June. We're waiting to hear back from SEGA about European plans.

That potentially sits the release of Virtua Tennis 2009 right next to EA's Grand Slam Tennis, which also has Wii MotionPlus controls. The latter will bundle the WMP accessory at launch on 12th June for an added tenner.

We served and volleyed with Virtua Tennis 2009 on Wii and PS3 recently, and were very impressed.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/se...-slips-to-june

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Disney Porting Toy Story Midway Mania! Theme Park Ride To Wii

May 7th, 2009, 17:41 Posted By: wraggster

Disney's looking to its own theme parks for new video game opportunities, bringing its interactive Toy Story-branded theme park attraction to the Wii. The publisher will be officially announcing Toy Story Midway Mania! later tonight.

http://kotaku.com/5243409/disney-por...rk-ride-to-wii

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Pachter sees potential in EA Sports Active, dismisses Spore

May 7th, 2009, 17:43 Posted By: wraggster

Wedbush Morgan diva analyst extraordinaire Michael Pachter, the man who finds the idea of Apple buying Electronic Arts "retarded," is confident about EA's gaming lineup -- particularly on the Wii -- and is raising the company's stock expectation to $27 (currently $20). Using the royal We, His Analytical Lordship was particularly impressed by EA Sports Active and Tiger Woods, which He sees becoming "blockbusters" on the Wii.

Of course, Pachter can't show his love without asserting his authority with a beating. Warhammer and Spore were graciously cut with love by the soothsayer. He remains skeptical about Warhammer Online's potential, stating that with 300,000 subscribers the game is probably only making about $10 million in profit (which didn't save many staff members) and estimates the game would break even in operating cost if it dips to about 250,000 subscribers. Pachter also isn't confident about EA's attempts to turn Spore into a franchise, noting that that the game "sold about as well as a typical SpongeBob game." Yeah, that's got to sting a little.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/07/pa...smisses-spore/

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The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks In Stores This Year

May 7th, 2009, 17:45 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo ended their GDC keynote announcing The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, but never set a release date. Their fiscal year 2010 financial outlook released tonight at least gives the game a timeline, forecasting the portable Zelda game will launch in the latter half of this calendar year.

Seems like The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks will be Nintendo’s DS / DSi holiday game.

http://www.siliconera.com/2009/05/07...res-this-year/

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Super Mario 64: The Missing Stars Released!

May 7th, 2009, 17:52 Posted By: wraggster

This is the first ever “complete” hack of Mario 64, featuring brand new levels and missions. The game has been changed in many aspects, offering a fresh gameplay experience.

Main Features:

38 stars in about 10 levels
A Day/night cycle replacing (most) act selectors
Choose to play as Mario or Luigi
Modified enemies, objects and bosses (too many to list!)
Custom music, including one original song (the town “night” music)
A new final boss fight which involves a new Mario powerup
There are also many ‘behind the scene’ modifications that make make this hack work: extended memory support, a new collision pointer system (lookup tables instead of hardcoded pointers), modified script commands and a bunch of other hacks.

Some hacks used in this game were written straight in C using a GCC compiler targeting MIPS and a set of header files/linker scripts to allow interaction with existing game code and functions. Source code for most modifications will also be released soon.

http://www.romhacking.net/forum/inde...opic,8551.html

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USB Gecko's back in stock @ Gp2x Store

May 7th, 2009, 18:12 Posted By: wraggster

News from GP2X Store



USB gecko is 3rd Party Memory Card Interface Adapter which allows homebrew and hobbyist developers the ability to connect their Gamecube(TM) or Wii(TM) console to there PC which has a USB 2.0 Port.


Features
Upload and execute files (DOL and Bin format) such as homebrew games
Backup and restore game save files to and from the PC
Remote debugging capabilities, free open source libraries, and source code examples
On board flash memory for storing data or firmwares
.mp3 and .mod music player
Play your games, freeze them at any point, take screenshots and save them to the PC
Works on all regions

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USB Gecko's back in stock @ Gp2x Store

May 7th, 2009, 18:12 Posted By: wraggster

News from GP2X Store



USB gecko is 3rd Party Memory Card Interface Adapter which allows homebrew and hobbyist developers the ability to connect their Gamecube(TM) or Wii(TM) console to there PC which has a USB 2.0 Port.


Features
Upload and execute files (DOL and Bin format) such as homebrew games
Backup and restore game save files to and from the PC
Remote debugging capabilities, free open source libraries, and source code examples
On board flash memory for storing data or firmwares
.mp3 and .mod music player
Play your games, freeze them at any point, take screenshots and save them to the PC
Works on all regions

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Bombjack DS v1.0 - Arcade Emulator for DS

May 7th, 2009, 18:25 Posted By: wraggster

News via Nintendomax

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New MX vs ATV Game Announced

May 7th, 2009, 18:27 Posted By: wraggster

During THQ's fourth-quarter financial call for fiscal year 2009 today, execs let slip that the company will be publishing a new installment in the MX vs ATV Off-road series later this year. Thus far the series has shipped more than 7.5 million copies worldwide.

The most recent installment, MX vs ATV Untamed was the first in the series to hit Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and was greeted by generally positive reviews.

No new details on the game were given besides the fact that the new MX vs ATV entry is scheduled to ship later in 2009.

http://uk.ds.ign.com/articles/980/980301p1.html

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Schofield confident on Wii's mature market

May 8th, 2009, 16:59 Posted By: wraggster

Glen Schofield, VP and general manager of EA's newly-branded Visceral Games studio, has told GamesIndustry.biz that he's confident there's a market for mature content on the Nintendo Wii platform.

He admitted that the team's forthcoming title Dead Space: Extraction, due out on the Wii later this year, is an experiment for the company, but noted that the sheer number of those consoles that have been sold gives them a good chance.

"I'm confident - it is an experiment, but there's going to be 50 million Wiis out there by the time the game comes out, so if you only hit 2 per cent of the installed base you've got a huge number," said Schofield.

"I don't know - there have been some already, Resident Evil and House of the Dead, that have done really well, so we're pushing for that 80-plus-rated game, and that'll put you in the top 5 per cent of all Wii games... because most do not have a great score."

He added that marketing would be key to the success of the game, and admitted that the company should have invested more in the launch of the original Dead Space last year.

"Well, we did pull the game in two weeks early - it went through Sony and Microsoft test with flying colours," he said of last year's game. "We didn't get bounced once, so we were able to release two weeks early. I think maybe part of it wasn't having online, but other than that... EA came back and I think learned a lot about how much to spend on new IP at launch. Maybe we underinvested in the beginning - it was a good investment, but maybe it needed more.

"But the name is surely out there now, and the awards really helped. If you look back at the history of videogames, a lot of times it's been the second game that's benefitted from the first game's critical success."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-mature-market

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Nintendo reveals Wii and DS million-sellers

May 8th, 2009, 17:03 Posted By: wraggster

Following yesterday's full year financial results Nintendo has released internal sales figures for its top-selling first party titles on the Wii and Nintendo DS.

The results suggest that Wii Sports has become the best-selling bundled videogame of all time, beating NES classic Super Mario Bros. In turn Wii Play is now the best-selling non-bundled game, with Nintendogs taking its place if its status as a hardware bundle with the Wii remote is discounted.

In total Wii Sports has sold 45.7 million units worldwide, which is only slightly below the current 50 million total for the Wii itself, since the game is not bundled with the console in Japan.

Wii Play sales are currently on 22.9 million, followed by Wii Fit on 18.2 million and Mario Kart Wii on 15.4 million. The best-selling Wii title not to be bundled with additional hardware is Super Smash Bros Brawl on 8.4 million units.

The critically acclaimed Super Mario Galaxy is the Wii's sixth strongest seller on 8 million units, followed by Mario Party 8 on 6.7 million and Wii Zapper bundle Link's Crossbow Training on 3.76 million.

Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City (aka City Folk) is the best-seller from Nintendo's 2008 Christmas line-up on 3.76 million units, followed by Wii Music on 2.65 million. Super Mario Stadium Baseball (aka Mario Super Sluggers) is the last of the million-selling titles on the list at 1.2 million units.

On the DS the top-selling title is Nintendogs and all its many near-identical SKUs, with sales of 22.2 million units. This is followed by New Super Mario Bros which stands at 18.4 million.

Brain Training (aka Brain Age) has sold 17.4 million units worldwide, with Pokemon Diamond/Pearl on 16.8 million, Mario Kart DS on 14.6 million and More Brain Training (aka Brain Age 2) on 13.7 million.

Animal Crossing: Wild World stands at 10 million, followed by launch title Super Mario 64 DS on 7.5 million, Mario Party DS on 5.8 million and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon on 4.5 million. Pokemon Platinum is on 3.7 million and Kirby Super Star Ultra is on 2.3 million - with neither title yet having been released in Europe.

Pokemon Ranger has sold 2 million units worldwide, while Rhythm Paradise (aka Rhythm Heaven) is on 1.9 million. Professor Layton and the Curious Village has sold 1.6 million units in the West, although this figure does not include Japan where the game is self-published by developer Level-5.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...illion-sellers

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Nintendo reveals Wii and DS million-sellers

May 8th, 2009, 17:03 Posted By: wraggster

Following yesterday's full year financial results Nintendo has released internal sales figures for its top-selling first party titles on the Wii and Nintendo DS.

The results suggest that Wii Sports has become the best-selling bundled videogame of all time, beating NES classic Super Mario Bros. In turn Wii Play is now the best-selling non-bundled game, with Nintendogs taking its place if its status as a hardware bundle with the Wii remote is discounted.

In total Wii Sports has sold 45.7 million units worldwide, which is only slightly below the current 50 million total for the Wii itself, since the game is not bundled with the console in Japan.

Wii Play sales are currently on 22.9 million, followed by Wii Fit on 18.2 million and Mario Kart Wii on 15.4 million. The best-selling Wii title not to be bundled with additional hardware is Super Smash Bros Brawl on 8.4 million units.

The critically acclaimed Super Mario Galaxy is the Wii's sixth strongest seller on 8 million units, followed by Mario Party 8 on 6.7 million and Wii Zapper bundle Link's Crossbow Training on 3.76 million.

Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City (aka City Folk) is the best-seller from Nintendo's 2008 Christmas line-up on 3.76 million units, followed by Wii Music on 2.65 million. Super Mario Stadium Baseball (aka Mario Super Sluggers) is the last of the million-selling titles on the list at 1.2 million units.

On the DS the top-selling title is Nintendogs and all its many near-identical SKUs, with sales of 22.2 million units. This is followed by New Super Mario Bros which stands at 18.4 million.

Brain Training (aka Brain Age) has sold 17.4 million units worldwide, with Pokemon Diamond/Pearl on 16.8 million, Mario Kart DS on 14.6 million and More Brain Training (aka Brain Age 2) on 13.7 million.

Animal Crossing: Wild World stands at 10 million, followed by launch title Super Mario 64 DS on 7.5 million, Mario Party DS on 5.8 million and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon on 4.5 million. Pokemon Platinum is on 3.7 million and Kirby Super Star Ultra is on 2.3 million - with neither title yet having been released in Europe.

Pokemon Ranger has sold 2 million units worldwide, while Rhythm Paradise (aka Rhythm Heaven) is on 1.9 million. Professor Layton and the Curious Village has sold 1.6 million units in the West, although this figure does not include Japan where the game is self-published by developer Level-5.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...illion-sellers

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Wii Sports the bestselling game ever?

May 8th, 2009, 18:29 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo has revealed global lifetime sales figures for first party Wii and DS titles that shifted over a million copies during the fiscal year ended March 31.


Topping the list is Wii Sports with 45.7 million copies sold, including those bundled with hardware. That total likely puts the game's sales ahead of those of Super Mario Bros, which has long been considered the bestselling game in history with over 40 million sales. The 1985 NES classic was also bundled with hardware.

When approached, however, Nintendo UK said that it couldn't confirm that sales of Wii Sports had overtaken those of Super Mario Bros.

Elsewhere in the data, Nintendo said that Wii Play sales are just 200,000 copies shy of 23 million units, followed by Wii Fit on 18.2 million and Mario Kart Wii on 15.4 million.

On the DS front, the near identical editions of Nintendogs have sold 22.27 million copies, followed by New Super Mario Bros on 18.4 million, Brain Training on 17.4 million and Pokemon Diamond/Pearl on 16.8 million.

Nintendo Wii
Wii Sports - 45.7 million (includes sales bundled with hardware)
Wii Play - 23 million
Wii Fit - 18.2 million
Mario Kart Wii - 15.4 million
Smash Bros. Brawl - 8.43 million
Super Mario Galaxy - 8 million
Mario Party 8 - 6.7 million
Link's Crossbow Training - 3.76 million (includes sales from Wii Zapper bundle)
Animal Crossing: City Folk - 3.38 million
Wii Music - 2.65 million
Mario Super Sluggers - 1.26 million

Nintendo DS
Nintendogs - 22.27 million
New Super Mario Bros. - 18.45 million
Brain Training - 17.4 million
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl - 16.8 million
Mario Kart DS - 14.6 million
Brain Training 2 - 13.7 million
Animal Crossing: Wild World - 10.8 million
Super Mario 64 DS - 7.5 million
Mario Party DS - 5.85 million
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon - 4.5 million
Pokemon Platinum - 3.75 million
Kirby Super Star Ultra - 2.36 million
Pokemon Ranger - 2 million
Rhythm Heaven - 1.9 million
Personal Trainer: Cooking - 1.84 million
Professor Layton - 1.65 million (does not include Japanese sales)

http://www.computerandvideogames.com....php?id=214597

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Pokemon duo on for DS remake

May 8th, 2009, 18:30 Posted By: wraggster

Game Boy Colour releases Silver and Gold heading to Nintendo’s current handheld
Ahead of the rumour mill reaching fever point, Nintendo has reportedly confirmed that legendary Pokemon pair Heart Gold and Soul Silver are to be remade for DS.

IGN reports that both games, which were initially released for Game Boy Colour in 2000, will feature a number of enhancements alongside the obligatory duel and touch screen support.
There’s still no word, though, on any kind of fully-fledged Pokemon outing for Wii – though perhaps considering that ‘proper’ Pokemon adventures failed to make it on to both the N64 and GameCube, maybe it’s no surprise.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/34227/Poke...-for-DS-remake

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Rainbow Islands heads Nintendo updates

May 8th, 2009, 18:38 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo has updated its various online shops with three new games across WiiWare, Virtual Console and DSiWare.

Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure is today's WiiWare offering, sliding in at 800 Wii Points (GBP 6 / EUR 8 approx), and the idea - as is traditional - is to make it to the top of some very tall stages by making rainbows.

Also for Wii there's the sole Virtual Console offering, Fantasy Zone II for Master System (500 Wii Points - GBP 3.50 / EUR 5 approx), which is a side-scrolling shooter with amazingly bright and happy graphics.

Finally, there's A Little Bit of... Magic Made Fun: Deep Psyche for DSi (200 DSi Points - GBP 1.50 / EUR 2 approx), which takes another magic trick out of the Magic Made Fun DS game and makes slightly more of it.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ra...ntendo-updates

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Rainbow Islands heads Nintendo updates

May 8th, 2009, 18:38 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo has updated its various online shops with three new games across WiiWare, Virtual Console and DSiWare.

Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure is today's WiiWare offering, sliding in at 800 Wii Points (GBP 6 / EUR 8 approx), and the idea - as is traditional - is to make it to the top of some very tall stages by making rainbows.

Also for Wii there's the sole Virtual Console offering, Fantasy Zone II for Master System (500 Wii Points - GBP 3.50 / EUR 5 approx), which is a side-scrolling shooter with amazingly bright and happy graphics.

Finally, there's A Little Bit of... Magic Made Fun: Deep Psyche for DSi (200 DSi Points - GBP 1.50 / EUR 2 approx), which takes another magic trick out of the Magic Made Fun DS game and makes slightly more of it.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ra...ntendo-updates

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Sakura Wars for PS2/Wii this autumn

May 8th, 2009, 18:42 Posted By: wraggster

NIS America plans to release Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love for PS2 and Wii this autumn.

This a strategy RPG in which robots meet the Wild West - a bit like that film with Will Smith in. There are six endings depending on the choices you make along the way - character interaction is very important, apparently.

Combat is split in two: ground battles are fought in two-legged mechanised robots, which can transform and take to the sky, prompting missile-based, long-range battles. There are around 30 to 40 hours gameplay in total.

There's no word on what the platform differences are, nor when we'll see this in Europe. We're checking.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/sa...ii-this-autumn

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Madden Wii Developers Re-Re-Think Motion Controls

May 8th, 2009, 18:57 Posted By: wraggster

EA's football developers may be ushering in a third era of Wii motion control game development — a better one.

Remember when Wii controls involved swinging your arms wildly or making gestures that could more easily be inputted with the press of a button?

The developers of the next Madden on Wii are trying to rein things back in and nail what has been eluding many developers for almost two and a half years: good Wii motion controls.

The latest re-thinking, or re-re-thinking was on display at an EA games showcase in New York a couple of weeks ago where a producer for Madden NFL 10 for Wii explained the new, calmer controls for this year's game.

Last year, Madden NFL 09 All-Play asked players to shove their hands left and right to juke and stiff-arm. They had to reel back with the Wii remote when throwing a pass and then flick their arm forward, as if throwing a football.

Those controls proved both too hard for some players to remember and too time-consuming for quick plays, a Madden producer told me at the event.

So this year's game, which drops the All-Play moniker and matches title with its big console brethren, will feature simpler but still Wii-specific controls:

* The development team is offering a "point-and-pass" option which lets players point the Wii remote at the spot where they want to pass the ball, press a button and make that pass.

* Tackling and escaping tackles will be accomplished by shaking the Wii remote. It's what players naturally do with their motion-controller when they are being tackled in the games anyway, the EA developer explained.

* The game will also let players use the Wii remote to draw routes for their players.

So maybe the development of motion controls will end up like the porridge Goldilocks liked to eat. Did those early Wii games have too little implementation of motion control? Did games like All-Play have too much? If so, here's hoping that Madden NFL 10 ushers in an age of game developers getting things just right.

Madden NFL 10 for Wii ships this August.

http://kotaku.com/5244441/madden-wii...otion-controls

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Majesco serving Cooking Mama 3 to E3 attendees

May 8th, 2009, 19:01 Posted By: wraggster

Majesco just sent out a very cute invitation to a Cooking Mama-themed party to be held during E3. Listed among the activities planned for the party: a chance to play Cooking Mama 3. What a nice way to announce a new game! The last "numbered" Cooking Mama was Cooking Mama 2: Dinner with Friends on DS, so it seems likely that this latest iteration will be on the DS as well.

It is very little surprise that Majesco and developer Cooking Mama Ltd. are planning another game. Cooking Mama is the cornerstone of Majesco's business, and we'd expect at least a couple of the "approximately 31 titles" the company plans to release (according to its financial report) to be Mama games. Probably more than a couple -- in addition to the newly announced 3, trademarks suggest both Babysitting Mama and Crafting Mama are on the way.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/08/ma...-e3-attendees/

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Bakugan: Battle Brawlers screens roll out for Wii and DS

May 8th, 2009, 19:03 Posted By: wraggster

You know you're old when there's a whole phenomenon sweeping the world that you've never heard about. Just like Tamagotchi, Pokémon and countless amounts of Pogs that have come before it, the latest collectible gaming craze aimed at the elementary school is Bakugan, where you do battle on cards with balls. That's right, balls. Apparently more than 55 million of these suckers have been sold already and it won Toy of the Year last year. Blink!

Activision is readying a video game version for the Wii and DS later this year, and we've got some of the first screens from the ball-rolling battler. There's actually a neat little mechanic in the real version, featuring magnets that cause your ball to pop open into a little fighting creature or robot when you roll it over one of the cards.

http://nintendo.joystiq.com/2009/05/...or-wii-and-ds/

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Bakugan: Battle Brawlers screens roll out for Wii and DS

May 8th, 2009, 19:03 Posted By: wraggster

You know you're old when there's a whole phenomenon sweeping the world that you've never heard about. Just like Tamagotchi, Pokémon and countless amounts of Pogs that have come before it, the latest collectible gaming craze aimed at the elementary school is Bakugan, where you do battle on cards with balls. That's right, balls. Apparently more than 55 million of these suckers have been sold already and it won Toy of the Year last year. Blink!

Activision is readying a video game version for the Wii and DS later this year, and we've got some of the first screens from the ball-rolling battler. There's actually a neat little mechanic in the real version, featuring magnets that cause your ball to pop open into a little fighting creature or robot when you roll it over one of the cards.

http://nintendo.joystiq.com/2009/05/...or-wii-and-ds/

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DSTTi for DSi, DS Lite and NDS

May 8th, 2009, 21:16 Posted By: wraggster

New from Divineo USA



- DS original cartridge size, Slot1 interface.
- Plug n Play, easy to use, just Drag n Drop file from PC to flash memory card.
- No FlashMe, built-in NoPass, and the GBA cards in slot2 can be started directly.
- Supports CleanROM, No covert.
- 100 percent SDHC TF and standard TF compatibility up to 4TB(4096GB) flash memory card.
- High speed SDHC. Supports any TF card speed with no lag in game,
- Save directly to TF card, not to onboard chip, Never lose your saves.
- Automatically detect and generate save type.
- Supports Moonshell and homebrew. DLDI auto-patching.
- Supports FAT/FAT32, works on any OS.
- Supports Action Replay cheat and edit the code base.
- Built-in energy-saving design.
- User friendly skinnable interface. Touchscreen or button operation. Supports Skin DIY.
- Supports the Hot-Key SOFT RESET.
- Supports the WiFi game, DS Rumble Pak, DS Browser.
- Supports Download play.
- Supports 4-scale-lightness adjustment ( DS Lite only ).

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When the Party is Over it's Time for Rabbids Go Home

May 8th, 2009, 22:40 Posted By: wraggster

Today Ubisoft revealed new gameplay details about the upcoming comedy-adventure Rabbids Go Home. The party is over and the Rabbids are ready to go home...to the moon! Developed by Ubisoft Montpellier, the game features a new wacky storyline, diverse gameplay and intuitive controls, and a vast array of environments that leads to hilarious capers as the Rabbids wreak havoc on the Humans in pursuit of their quest. Rabbids Go Home is scheduled to ship Holiday 2009 for the Wii system from Nintendo.

About the Game:
The Rabbids first comedy-adventure will take them to the moon or bust! Those crazy Rabbids have an infallible plan: collect all the human stuff they can find, heap it onto a giant pile and literally climb home to the moon. But not so fast! The Humans revolt, unleashing the Verminators whose only objective is to exterminate the Rabbids. Rabbids Go Home game features include:

• The Rabbids First Comedy-Adventure: Control two Raving Rabbids and their shopping cart and cause mayhem in a world full of uptight Humans with shopping on the brain. Collect varying sizes of human stuff to build the Rabbids sky-high pile of junk in their quest to reach the moon.

• Make a huge mess and provoke hilarious situations in over 15 striking game environments: Scour through supermarkets, race across rooftops, jet past airports and boost through the Bayou, visiting the game's unique take on everyday places.

• Play over 40 missions: Race, chase, boost and generally run amok while scaring the Humans right down to their undies - literally! Ridicule reams of relentless enemies and their nasty pooches in an increasingly paranoid world of Rabbid-haters.

• Unique Art Direction: Encounter a cast of colorful, oddball characters and explore a remarkable parody of the modern world as if you were living inside an interactive cartoon!

• Variety of Gameplay: Soup up your shopping cart with a Jet Ski, an airplane reactor, or a hospital Bubble Bed to wreak endless havoc everywhere you turn. Learn to pilot your cart while boosting, jumping, gliding, floating and flying.

For more information about Rabbids Go Home, visit the official website: http://www.rabbids.com

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RealWnD v0.11

May 8th, 2009, 22:49 Posted By: wraggster

This program is a 1:1 Wii NAND Dumper based on YaWnD 0.3 with several improvements. All currently available Wii NAND Dumpers misunderstand the IOS_Read() returned error code -12 and cause dumped image file to be different from extracted image of external hardware programmer for de-soldered NAND chip.

After analyzing, the -12 code seems very likely to be ECC error but not simply to be bad block. And most pages with -12 return code might be unmanaged free block (ECC error due to erased but not programmed yet). Zeroing these pages is a bit dangerous. If it happens it's the very first time the ECC error occurred for a good page while dumping, zeros it might cause the dumped image useless.

Besides the -12 code, some people encounters -11 code and stop their dumping. I guess the -11 code might be NAND read timeout and NAND status error. Stopping dumping is not a good idea but zeroing it would be safe. I also provide extra Page Debug Dump for these -11 code for user to analyze it.

For whose NAND dump without -11 code, the RealWnD can help them make 100% 1:1 dump which is exact the same with hardware programmer dump.

v0.11 (08 May 2009) minor bugfix: error code -12 mis-typed as 12 cause error code -12 unnecessarily retry once.
v0.1 (08 May 2009) Initial release.

http://wiibrew.org/wiki/RealWnD

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Konami kind of announces Contra ReBirth for WiiWare

May 8th, 2009, 22:50 Posted By: Shrygue

via Joystiq


We'd love to be excited about the newly announced WiiWare release, Contra ReBirth, but it's a little tough when considering how Konami revealed its existence. The game recently appeared with little (read: no) fanfare on a Konami product page. Heck, we're not even sure if the thing is all original or a remix of an old game!

It's like having your first-born child and letting your friends and family know by mentioning it under your breath as you drive past the hospital. What are you hiding, Konami? Is it ... a ginger?

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EA: MotionPlus Players Won't Have Advantage In Multiplayer

May 9th, 2009, 10:37 Posted By: wraggster

He or she who wields the MotionPlus in EA's upcoming Wii sports games will be able to play differently, but not always better.

At a recent showcase for EA's upcoming sports games in New York City, I got a chance to play EA's Tiger Woods PGA 10 for the Wii with Nintendo's MotionPlus add-on and watch a developer use the device to swing through the company's Grand Slam Tennis.

And I got to grill the creators on how MotionPlus works in these games. It's optional in both.

And, get this, the developers say it won't give you a competitive gameplay advantage.

"We didn't want to make it more beneficial for players who have MotionPlus," Grand Slam Tennis producer Thomas Singleton explained to me as we talked about multiplayer modes. "It's just different."

MotionPlus certainly allows games supporting it to be played differently. Take Tiger: The MotionPlus attachment allows games to identify the relative position of the Wii Remote even when it is still. So a golf game like Tiger Woods can determine whether a player is really swinging their arm back to drive a golf ball or just flicking their wrist – and render those two very different actions as the two different kinds of shots that they would be in real life.

That kind of difference would seem to imbalance the playing field of MotionPlus gamers against non-MotionPlus gamers, but EA says that is not the case. That would be good, if correct, for players who can't afford to arm every one of their Wii Remotes with a MotionPlus. A MotionPlus player could be an even match against their non-MotionPlus friends.

The more basic MotionPlus-less controls of Grand Slam Tennis are still more complex than the tennis in Wii Sports. The MotionPlus-enabled version will let players get closer to feeling that their body and arm movements are being matched on-screen.

That better feel comes through different mechanics. With the add-on, a gamer's tennis player will be able to wind their body up for a swing as the MotionPlus-enabled Wii Remote is moved back for a swing.

Without MotionPlus, the tennis player's body stays square until a swing is made. With the MotionPlus, players can aim their shots to any part of the tennis court. Without it, they will apply an angle to their shot by timing their swing to the movement of an arrow back and forth across the net. (Singleton demonstrates some of this at the game's official site)

Players can attach or remove the MotionPlus in the middle of a tennis match and the controls will automatically switch.

If Singleton is right, then, by design, neither playing method will allow a gamer to play better. They will just be able to play differently. Head-to-head games of a MotionPlus player against a non-MotionPlus player are not discouraged.

They should be balanced just fine, the producer said.

EA's first two MotionPlus games, Tiger and Tennis, will be released in June.

http://kotaku.com/5245818/ea-motionp...in-multiplayer

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NDSi battery pack

May 9th, 2009, 10:47 Posted By: wraggster

New from SuccessHK



Use the screw driver to open the battery cover, put the battery then fasten the screw. Use the AC adapter to charge the battery when the battery in the console.

3.7V 1000mAh Rechargeable Battery.
Rechargeable Battery for NDSi
Compatible with NDSi

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Refurbished DS Lite Consoles at SUccessHK

May 9th, 2009, 10:51 Posted By: wraggster

SuccessHK are selling a load of refurbished DS Lite Consoles at a Decent Price of $81 around 53 Pounds, heres some more details:



99% as new one
High quailty
3rd party refurbushed

Available in around 10 colours

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The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes confirmed, trailer released

May 10th, 2009, 02:01 Posted By: wraggster

After rumors last week claimed Krome Studios to be working on an upcoming multiplatform Star Wars game, tentatively titled The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes, Entertainment Weekly has since confirmed the game's existence.

In the same aesthetic vein as the Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the trailer focuses on a poorly voiced Yoda and -- big surprise! -- the possibility that failure means "all will be lost." Dare we say it? The graphics just aren't that impressive, especially compared with last year's The Force Unleashed. Still, the game's only out (on every system ever) by September 15th. Perhaps it'll catch our eye before then!

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/09/th...iler-released/

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VisualBoyAdvance Rerecording wip r85

May 10th, 2009, 02:13 Posted By: wraggster

News via aep

VBA1.7.2-re-recording21
is the re-recording branch of VisualBoyAdvance.

This is the development project for this branch of VBA. Its primary function is to expand features related to the creation of Tool-assisted movies.

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North America Gets Sakura Wars

May 10th, 2009, 02:15 Posted By: wraggster

At NISA's San Francisco press event last night, the publisher happily unveiled that it would be bringing Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love to the US. The anime-styled, robot-filled RPG is scheduled for launch this Fall and combines traditional dating-sim elements with mechanized combat.

Sakura Wars puts the story in the player's hands, as the player's interaction with the game dramatically influences the ending (there are six in all, all of them fully animated). As the player nurtures relationships between certain characters, their performance in battle will also improve and the strength of their combination attacks soars. This means that the game's social elements are closely tied to the battle system.

Once engaged in battle, players can either fight on the ground or in the air, as the bipedal robots can transform freely between humanoid and jet forms. Depending on what form the robots take, their attacks will also change accordingly.

Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love is spread across eight story chapters which will last approximately four to five hours each. The game takes place in New York and will also feature plenty of mini-games and bonus features once the player completes the main story.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/981/981259p1.html

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BaNNeRBoMB Released - New Exploit for Wii

May 10th, 2009, 02:27 Posted By: wraggster

A new wii exploit has been released by Comex that supposedly works on any version of the Wii (Menu) from 3.x-4.0 :

Details from Wiibrew

The exploit dubbed as BannerBomb created by Comex is the only public way to load homebrew applications on a System Menu 4.0 wii. The exploit was released on the 5th April 2009 through the IRC Channel #Wiidev. The exploit works by using a malformed banner to crash the wii loading the boot.dol placed in the root of the SD card. Currently this exploit does not allow the Homebrew channel to be installed due to the exploit that was used being blocked in 4.0.

Step by Step
Ensure your SD card is formatted as FAT. By default SD cards are formatted as FAT, so if you're not sure you can skip this step.
(Optional) Backup the "Private" folder on your SD card or rename it temporarily.
Copy the Bannerbomb "Private" folder to your SD Card.
Start the Wii, enter Settings, Data Management, Channels then SD Card. (NOT THE SD CARD MENU!)
A message should appear asking to load "Boot.dol" If not, try again with a different version.
Have fun!
FAQ
Does this work with the new v4.0 System Menu update?
Yes.
Can it load files from the internal SD slot?
Yes.
Can I load GameCube homebrew with this?
Not directly. Though you can use the Wii Gamecube Homebrew Launcher once you've got your Wii ready for homebrew.
What about if I use doltool or dol2elf?
No. These tools merely change the container file format, it does not convert between GameCube/Wii code.
What will happen to our current saves/channels?
You can back them up.

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Brick Game DS v1.0

May 10th, 2009, 02:52 Posted By: wraggster

News via Nintendomax

sonic master performs "Brick Game DS", where you manage a vehicle made of bricks and must avoid the other scrolls on the screen

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Bombjack DS v1.0.2 - Arcade Emulator for DS

May 10th, 2009, 02:56 Posted By: wraggster

News via Nintendomax

Copper offers 2 updated Correctional successive "Bombjack DS", the emulator MAME rom "Bombjack.

Reminder: you need the ROM for MAME format. Zip in the root of your linker or a directory named / MAMERoms.

Quote:
V1.0.2: 09/05/2009
* Loading hi-scores corrected

V1.0.1: 09/05/2009
* Marquee better (thank you progds)
* Set when used kept going back to menu

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VNDS v1.5.0

May 10th, 2009, 02:59 Posted By: wraggster

News via http://www.ds-scene.net/

Jake has made some new updates to VNDS

1.5.0 04/05/09 Jake:

.novel support
download novels directly onto ds
redid FIFO stuff
'if var == 0' works with unset variables again
cleartext command

Compatible visual novels can also be downloaded at Digital-Haze

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First footage of Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver revealed

May 11th, 2009, 02:53 Posted By: wraggster

As promised, today's episode of Pokémon Sunday brought the now not-so-surprising reveal of Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver. While the actual revelation wasn't particularly mind-blowing, the episode did feature a few seconds of gameplay (posted after the break) that will likely whet the appetites of many a pocket-sized monster fanatic.

The gameplay itself isn't that interesting -- the protagonist merely walks in circles a few times -- though we do get a good sense of the Pearl and Diamond-esque art style the remakes will adopt. Also, if this clip is any indication, it looks like your starter pokémon will follow your character around in a Pokémon Yellow-esque fashion. We feel so sorry for Pokémon detractors. If you guys had hearts, that news would make them feel pretty warm.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/10/fi...lver-revealed/

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The Conduit 'will reverse Wii FPS fortunes’

May 11th, 2009, 18:01 Posted By: wraggster

In-depth gameplay and visual customisation allows gamers to tweak experience
The creator of Sega’s The Conduit has claimed that the title will create a fillip in the success of FPS games on Wii.
The High Voltage-developed title takes players into a dark story in Washington D.C. after a vicious alien invasion has rocked the country.
The first person shooter garnered multiple awards at E3 last year, including three awards from IGN: Best Shooting Game (Wii), Best Graphics Technology (Wii) and Best Overall Wii Game.
High Voltage CEO Kerry J. Ganofsky told MCV: “Only a few have tried to succeed with FPS games on Wii. Those that have just haven’t offered gamers the entire package. FPS gamers want it all. They want precise controls, a fun single-player experience, a varied multiplayer offering, and yes they want high quality graphics. We understand this because we want these things ourselves.”
Lead producer Eric Nofsinger added: “The Conduit can absolutely change the FPS genre’s fortunes on Wii. We were very methodical with how we created this game. We set clear goals and didn’t stop iterating until we met those goals. Players can remap buttons, move HUD element placement, change run speeds, and so much more. This is something that only The Conduit offers and we hope that it becomes the standard in all games.”

The Conduit follows other ‘non-casual’ releases on Wii from Sega, including House Of The Dead Overkill and Madworld – but High Voltage does not believe the game is necessarily exclusively an ‘adult’ game.
"We don’t look at The Conduit as a mature game; we look at it as a gamer’s game,” added Nofsinger.
“From the start, we set out to provide the kind of FPS experience that all FPS gamers dreamed of when the Wii was first announced.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/34243/The-...i-FPS-fortunes