3DS XL registers decent launch sales in UK and Japan

August 1st, 2012, 22:54 Posted By: wraggster

The launch of the 3DS XL is pivotal to the future fortunes of the Nintendo 3DS and early sales numbers for the handheld are encouraging.
Although Nintendo has not released concrete sales numbers for the UK, Games Industry reports that the machine sold “a little shy of five figures� (as in 10,000) in its first chart week in the UK.
That means that it bettered sales of the original 3DS by around 2:1 last week.
Note that having been launched on a Saturday that figures are effectively day one numbers.
The story in Japan is arguably even better, with Famitsu reporting that 3DS XL sold 193,000 units in its first week.
CVG points out that by comparison, the DSi XL sold 100,000 units in its first two days at retail. Note, though, that machine arrived at a very different stage in the DS’ lifecycle and was the fourth – not the second – revision of the hardware.
UPDATE: MCV was contacted by ChartTrack to highlight an error in this story.
"The comparison with 3DS is complete rubbish and totally factually incorrect," a spokesperson said. "3DS week one was around 10 times the sell through of 3DS XL so there's no way 3DS XL could have outsold 3DS by 2:1."
However, now the author of the original story has stated that the week one sales comparison was for that specific week, and not the launch week of the 3DS.
Apologies for the confusion. The story has been altered to reflect this change.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/3ds-x...-japan/0100484

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Pokedex 3D Pro catalogs 'em all on Nov. 8

August 1st, 2012, 23:21 Posted By: wraggster

Pokedex 3D Pro will come to 3DS eShop in North America on November 8, with the freeware Pokedex 3D going away October 1. The new version includes information about "more than 640 Pokemon," along with a new Pokemon Challenge feature with a selection of quizzes to help cement knowledge of all those nonexistent creatures.

Pokedex 3D Pro is also updated with a price higher than "free" (which is what the original cost). In Japan, that's ¥1,500 ($19); Nintendo of America has not yet revealed the price stateside.

Nintendo also revealed a series of features in Pokemon Black Version 2 and White Version 2 related to connectivity; these include the "Memory Link" that allows you to "connect" the new game to a copy of Black or White and follow the activities of certain characters between the two games.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/01/po...ll-november-8/

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EX Troopers jetpacks to Japan on November 22

August 1st, 2012, 23:26 Posted By: wraggster

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Nintendo's handheld ecosystem 'will fall apart'

August 2nd, 2012, 22:37 Posted By: wraggster

Apple and Android are defeating the console giant's hardware machine, says Neil Young

Nintendo’s place in the handheld sector will fall apart because of smartphone gaming, says the CEO of Ngmoco.
As reported by Gamasutra, Neil Young said that Apple and Android had chipped away at Nintendo’s consumer base, and were defeating the Nintendo hardware machine.

He said that it was hard for users to spend upwards of $30 on any 3DS game that wasn’t a core Nintendo franchise such as Zelda, Mario and Pokemon.
He also believed that smartphones had affected sales of Sony’s handhelds, hinting it could be the end for traditional portable gaming devices.
“I think that Apple has done a number on Sony, and Apple and Android are now doing a number on Nintendo."

http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...ill-fall-apart

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FIFA is a Wii U launch title

August 3rd, 2012, 00:12 Posted By: wraggster

FIFA 13 will be amongst the first titles to launch on Wii U this year.
The franchise - which is only beaten by Call of Duty in sales each year – will be update for Wii U to feature GamePad controls. It even features ranked online play for the first time in a FIFA game for a Nintendo console.
The game uses the GamePad to shoot and place free kicks, similar to how Vita's backpad can be used for playing FIFA. It can also be used to quickly changing tactics and players using the touch screen.
Madden NFL 13 will also be a launch game for Wii U.
“We challenged our teams to develop innovations designed specifically for the Wii U, and to create new ways to play that would bring players of all abilities together,� said EA Sports boss Andrew Wilson.
“Our teams have truly delivered creative new football experiences with FIFA 13 and Madden NFL 13 for the Wii U.�

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/fifa-...-title/0100599

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New Official Nintendo team in place for Wii U launch

August 3rd, 2012, 00:51 Posted By: wraggster

Future has recruited a new editorial team for its Official Nintendo Magazine.
And the new recruits are currently redesigning the mag and website to coincide with the launch of Wii U.
Former ONM editor Chandra Nair has returned to Future Publishing in the role of editor-in-chief for the firm’s Nintendo projects.
Nintendo Gamer’s associate editor Matthew Castle has assumed the same associate editor role at Official Nintendo, while Jo Skrebels has been appointed as the magazine's staff writer.
“I am delighted the new editorial team has been finalised and am excited to see the brand evolve and develop in the run-up to Wii U launch," said Lee Nutter, the publisher of Official Nintendo Magazine.
"There’s a lot more to come from the ONM brand over the next 12 months and we have a great team in place to deliver it.�
“I am thrilled to have been appointed as Editor-in-Chief of Nintendo Projects and am excited to lead the team in taking the brand forward, in particular introducing the Wii U elements to the magazine itself. It is a really exciting time for Nintendo and I am proud we will be right in the midst of it all,� says Nair.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/new-o...launch/0100568

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Nintendo wins in Wiimote patent lawsuit

August 3rd, 2012, 00:54 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo has emerged victorious in a patent lawsuit filed by Copper Innovations Group.
The suit was first filed back in 2008 and claimed the Wiimote and Wii console infringed on the group’s 1996 patent for a ‘hand held computer input apparatus and method.’
Summary judgment was granted in Nintendo’s favor at the Pittsburgh U.S. District Court, putting an end to the case before the possibility of a jury trial.
"We are very pleased with the court's decision," Nintendo of America's deputy general counsel Richard Medway stated.
"Nintendo has a long history of developing innovative products while respecting the intellectual property rights of others. We also vigorously defend patent lawsuits when we firmly believe that we have not infringed another party's patent, despite the risks that this policy entails. I would like to express our sincere appreciation for the tireless efforts of our legal team."

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/ninte...awsuit/0100567

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Nintendo DSi gets Matte Red and Matte Blue finishes, shrugs off sunshine glare

August 3rd, 2012, 01:24 Posted By: wraggster

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Mass Effect 3 for Wii U

August 3rd, 2012, 01:30 Posted By: wraggster

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Madden 13 on Wii U features touch play-calling, hot routes

August 3rd, 2012, 01:31 Posted By: wraggster

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NintendoWare Weekly: Super Mario Land sale, 3D Solitaire

August 3rd, 2012, 01:36 Posted By: wraggster

The 3DS eShop has calmed down significantly after a few weeks of overflowing bounty, offering a single original game for download this week, 3D Solitaire. There is good news for people looking for a deal on previously released material, as the "Month of Mario" knocks a dollar off the price of Super Mario Land on Virtual Console.
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/02/ni...-3d-solitaire/

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Super Nincoffee Jr.

August 5th, 2012, 12:23 Posted By: wraggster


Your morning routine doesn’t include enough old-school gaming. Break the caffeine habit and get your Mario on at the same time with the help of the Super Nincoffee Jr.
[Luigifreakout123] shares the details of the build in the video clip after the break. He starts by revealing that this is the second version he’s made. The first wasn’t a Jr., but instead used a full-sized Mr. Coffee unit. Neither make coffee, but instead serve as an enclosure for the gaming hardware. The on/off switch and original power cable are used to control the electricity to the console. Openings have been cut in the tops and front for a game cartridge and the two controller ports. A composite video and stereo audio cable comes out the back of the machine next to the power cord.
Yeah, it’s super simple, but sometimes that all it takes for a project to be a delight like this one is.
http://hackaday.com/2012/08/03/super-nincoffee-jr/

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New Super Mario Bros 2 flies in Japan

August 5th, 2012, 15:02 Posted By: wraggster

It has only been out a week, but already New Super Mario Bros 2 is one of the 3DS' biggest selling video games.
The game has sold 430,185 copies in Japan according to data from Enterbrain. It follows the release of the 3DS XL (or 3DS LL as it is called in Japan), which sold 193.441 units.
New Super Mario Bros 2 could prove to be a significant release for Nintendo. The last two games for DS and Wii are amongst the biggest selling Mario games of all time, shifting well over 20m units each worldwide.
There's a Wii U New Super Mario Bros game, which is set to launch with the hardware.
Medal of Honor: Warfighter is listed as one of the 20 games to save Christmas in this week's MCV. You can buy the digital version of the magazine to discover the full list, here.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/enter...-japan/0100693

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Call of Duty: "Significant concerns" that it's peaked, "genre tired" says analyst

August 5th, 2012, 15:12 Posted By: wraggster

A number of analysts weigh in on the future of Activision's Call of Duty franchise
[h=3]Activision Blizzard[/h]Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Blizzard, Inc. is a worldwide pure-play online...

www.activisionblizzard.com


Following the company's second quarter earnings report, analysts issued their usual investors notes on Activision Blizzard. One comment that raised some eyebrows came from Ben Schachter of Macquarie Securities, who said "we have significant concerns that CoD may have peaked in 2011."
GamesIndustry International followed up with Schachter to get a fuller explanation of his thoughts. He believes that Call of Duty will have a hard time showing growth for a number of reasons outlined below:

1. HD hardware and software as a whole have been declining all year (i.e., it is not just weak Wii sales that are impacting the industry)
2. Lifetime unit sales of Modern Warfare 3 are slightly below Black Ops
3. The genre seems tired
4. The futursitic setting may not have the same appeal for some
5. The macro economic environment is causing some gamers to hold back on upgrades
6. Currency fluctuations mean that European sales are worth less to ATVI shareholders

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N64 controller mod means playing games akimbo

August 5th, 2012, 20:52 Posted By: wraggster


Star Wars Episode 1 Racer for the Nintendo 64 has a rather interesting feature: by entering the code RRDUAL on the cheats menu, it’s possible to plug two controllers into the console and control each engine independently. This gives the game an awesome arcade feel, but dual-wielding N64 controllers is a bit of a burden. [Clarky] thought it would be a good idea to combine two controllers into one, and the Star Wars Racer controller is the result.
Like most console mods, the build began by tearing apart two N64 controllers and gluing them together. With a ton of bondo, sanding, and fiberglass, [Clarky] had a mutated N64 controller perfect for the Episode 1 game.
[Clarky] will be updating the build with a built-in rumble pak, but for now he’s doing his best to learn how to fly a pod racer with both hands. You can check out the demo of his build after the break where he plays the Star Wars game as well as a round of Goldeneye using his akimbo controller.

http://hackaday.com/2012/08/05/n64-c...-games-akimbo/

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Dragon Quest X to get 10 years of DLC support

August 5th, 2012, 21:03 Posted By: wraggster

Square Enix will support Dragon Quest X with new download content for 10 years.
That's according to Japanese newspaper Nikkei (via Andriasang), who also reports that Square will release title updates every 10 weeks.Andriasang points out that Producer Yosuke Saito has previously made mention of 10-week update intervals, but has never officially said anything about a more far-fetched 10-year support plan. Square clearly hopes that the game will be popular enough to keep it running that long.
The Wii and Wii U adventure is a subscription-based MMO - and the first online game of the Dragon Quest series.
Check out 11 minutes of gameplay here.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...f-dlc-support/

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Mega Man 2 heading to 3DS eShop

August 5th, 2012, 21:09 Posted By: wraggster

Mega Man 2 is coming to the Japanese 3DS eShop on August 8, reportsSiliconera, and that should excite you because Mega Man 2 is NES gold.
Considered by many to be the best and most iconic Mega Man game of the entire long-running series, Mega Man 2 has been a favourite of this writer since drooling over its appearance on Gamesmaster in the early '90s.The Japanese eShop can - on occasions too frequent for comfort - get games months ahead of their appearance in Western regions, but let's hope Nintendo pulls its finger out on this one.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...-to-3ds-eshop/

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Crysis 3 not being developed for Wii U

August 7th, 2012, 00:45 Posted By: wraggster

It appears Crysis 3 won’t be making its way onto Wii U, at least not anytime soon.
“Just to answer the speculation, we are not currently working on a wiiU version of #Crysis3,� Crytek general manager Nick Button-Brown posted on Twitter.
The statement follows word of the CryEngine 3 running ‘beautifully’ on Wii U, and producer Mike Read’s recent statement that Crytek was ‘working with Nintendo’ toward the possibility of a Wii U version.
The latest quote from the developer doesn’t entirely bury the chances of Crysis 3 making it onto Nintendo’s upcoming console at some point, but safe to say we won’t expect a release alongside the launch platforms in February 2013.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/crysi...-wii-u/0100743

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US 3DS sales double Vita's total in July - analysts

August 7th, 2012, 00:47 Posted By: wraggster

Game industry analysts have weighed in with US hardware and software sales predictions for the month of July, ahead of the NPD Group's release of official market data later this week.
Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan and fellow analyst firm EEDAR both expect 3DS sales to be double those of Vita, and for Xbox 360 to remain the top-selling console in the States for a 19th consecutive month.Pachter also predicted July software sales of $260 million, down 23 percent compared to July 2011's $338 million.
In a research note distributed today, the analyst said: "We expect July console software sales to be led by new release EA's NCAA Football 13, with Ubisoft's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and Take-Two's Max Payne 3 and Spec Ops: The Line expected to be among the top sellers, the latter due to its late June release date.
"Fellow new releases Activision Blizzard's Ice Age: Continental Drift, Atari's Test Drive: Ferrari Legends, and Electronic Arts' The Secret World likely were all negatively impacted by weak reviews, with the latter hurt by growing disinterest in MMOs as well."
Wedbush / EEDAR September sales estimates (change year-on-year):

• 360 - 200,000 (-28%) / 201,000 (-27%)
• PS3 - 140,000 (-3%) / 152,000 (+5%)
• 3DS - 121,000 (+32) / 125,000 (+37)
• Wii - 78,000 (-58%) / 75,000 (-60%)
• DS - 100,000 (-67%) / 109,000 (-64%)
• Vita - 60,000 (n/a) / 61,000 (n/a)
• PSP - 10,000 (-84%) / 9,000 (-86%)
• PS2 - 1,000 (-88%) / n/a
• Total - 710,000 (-34%) / 732,000 (-32%)

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Mass Effect 3 Wii U screenshots blast in

August 7th, 2012, 00:49 Posted By: wraggster

BioWare has released some new Mass Effect 3 Wii U screenshots.
The studio's first ever title on a Nintendo home console will feature a new control scheme designed to incorporate the Wii U GamePad, as well as "bonus DLC including the Extended Cut, an interactive back story covering previous events in the Mass Effect universe, and Mass Effect 3′s critically acclaimed multiplayer experience".
Publisher EA confirmed last week that Mass Effect 3 and FIFA 13 will both be Wii U launch titles.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...hots-blast-in/

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No Infinity Engine, Ultimate Team in Madden NFL 13 on Wii U

August 7th, 2012, 00:58 Posted By: wraggster

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Last Story designer: Wii U controller will enhance JRPG strategizing

August 7th, 2012, 01:00 Posted By: wraggster

The Last Story lead designer Takuya Matsumoto believes the Wii U has potential for role-playing games, partly for organizational reasons. "I feel that the Wii U's interface, as with other tablet devices, works best for browsing and arranging information," he told Siliconera.

All right, maybe "browsing and arranging information" isn't the most exciting-sounding use of the WiiPad, but it sounds much more interesting in RPG-specific terms. "One merit is the ability to use a touch screen to directly manipulate information, such as looking up a monster's weak point or, like with a car's GPS, as a tool to understand battlefield conditions on a sub screen," Matsumoto explained. "This special feature will likely bring about opportunities for deep research into JRPG strategy."

Matsumoto envisions JRPGs using other Wii U features as well, beyond the touchscreen. "Also, I think that things like saving information gathered during gameplay, adding to your own character's memories and experiences, and sharing with other players via Wi-Fi and the Miiverse will become an experience typical to the Wii U," Matsumoto said. Sharing memories of virtual experiences isn't exactly the first thing we thought of when we saw Miiverse, but it's an interesting idea.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/06/la...jrpg-strategi/

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WiiTweet 0.3.0 released

August 7th, 2012, 01:10 Posted By: wraggster

WiiTweet is a Twitter client for the Nintendo Wii. This article is a stub, further information will be added in the next days I just don't have the time right now (feel free to improve this page). Feedback is very welcome. If you are a graphic designer and want your name on the credits you can contribute your skills to the project (see the source to get an idea of which images are used where). Toolbar icons are ridiculously ugly right now but I wanted to release because I won't have much time in the next days.

http://wiibrew.org/wiki/WiiTweet

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SD Gundam Dimension War English Translation Patch

August 7th, 2012, 01:37 Posted By: wraggster

Ben Stevens and his brother have teamed up to create an English translation patch for SD Gundam Dimension War. If you need to know how to apply the patch to the SD Gundam ROM, see the newly added instructions in the games section. Thanks to Ben for these!

http://www.planetvb.com/modules/news...hp?storyid=348

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Stand Fix Kit Mini

August 7th, 2012, 01:38 Posted By: wraggster

The otherwise sturdy Virtual Box stand has one week link, which is the little plastic medaillon that connects the two metal legs and the clamp to mount the Virtual Boy to. Some of you have probably already experienced it breaking – I have at least. A broken medaillon often renders the whole stand useless, which until recently was a problem since it was not that easy to get a replacement.

For a while now this has not been a big issue anymore, since Planet Virtual Boy member Hedgetrimmer from the UK has created the "Stand Fix kit", which consists of a grey CNC milled solid piece of plastic that replaces the aforementioned medaillon on the Virtual Boy stand and comes with all relevant screws, washers and nuts.

http://www.planetvb.com/modules/news...hp?storyid=349

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Devolution R115

August 7th, 2012, 01:40 Posted By: wraggster

tueidj updates its loader USB Gamecube Wii running mode. His recent work on the GC memory cards were included in the loader (including the sequence release of official maps, which has always been a problem for the libogc), and new games are now compatible. changelog: - Patch to use Memory card unlocking MEM2 INSTEAD of ARAM - Memory card dumps from Any kind of card are now supported - Fixed for Vexx, X-Men Legends 2, Smuggler's Run: Warzones, SSX Tricky, Legends of Wrestling, Def Jam Vendetta

(*) Note for the module loader: only the "loader.bin" present in "gc_devo \ data" is needed. It must be placed at a particular location, which depends on the loader you are using (see the FAQ of your loader to find out where the copy).

http://wii.gx-mod.com/modules/news/a...p?storyid=3136

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DS2x86 Windows 3.11 progress

August 7th, 2012, 01:50 Posted By: wraggster

The last week was my first working week after my summer vacation, and I did not have much time to work on DS2x86 during the evenings. The extra project I worked on before my summer vacation also needed some additional work done, so that too decreased my free time. Thus I only got to work on DS2x86 this weekend, and there has not been much progress. I have managed to find the code that somehow sets up the page table with wrong values, and have been comparing the behaviour with that of DOSBox. The problem here is that the behaviour seems to differ quite a bit, and I'm not sure which differences are supposed to be there (as the memory organisation is slightly different between DOSBox and DS2x86) and which are symptoms of something going wrong. The problem is that it needs a huge amount of work to determine the cause of every single difference.
It is starting to feel like I would spend my time more productively trying to get some other software besides Windows 3.11 working in DS2x86. I will probably work on some games for a while before getting back to Windows 3.11 support. One game I would like to get working is Wing Commander Armada. It does need paging and is running the actual game in Virtual 86 mode, so it will need some of the same enhancements I have already done for Windows. I think I will spend the next couple of days trying to get it running. There are also other games that would need various fixes, and in any case it would be nice to be able to release a new version at some point!
http://dsx86.patrickaalto.com/DSblog.html

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Assassin's Creed 3 WiiU boxart appears

August 7th, 2012, 16:29 Posted By: Shrygue

Spotted by Eurogamer, Amazon CA has recently listed Assassin's Creed 3 for WiiU on their website. Whether or not the artwork and sign to represent WiiU titles are official, one can see for themselves by looking here.

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Ask Slashdot: Understanding the SNES?

August 7th, 2012, 23:30 Posted By: wraggster

As a product of the 90s I grew up loving the classics that kids today know about from Wikipedia and pop-culture references. Games like Super Bomberman, Zelda: A Link to the Past, Donkey Kong Country I and III (II was a sellout, come on) are the foundations of my childhood memories. Now, though, as a fourth-year electrical engineering major, I find myself increasingly impressed by the level of technical difficulty embedded in that 16-bit console. I am trying, now, to find a resource that will take me through the technical design of the SNES (memory layout, processor information, cartridge pin layouts/documentation) to get a better understanding of what I naively enjoyed 15 some years ago. I am reaching out to the vast resources available from the minds of the Slashdot community. Any guide/blog series that you know of that walks through some of the technical aspects of the, preferably, SNES (alternatively, NES/Nintendo 64) console would be much appreciated.
http://ask.slashdot.org/story/12/08/...nding-the-snes

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GameStop offering exclusive downloadable Mythical Pokemon on Aug. 27

August 8th, 2012, 02:26 Posted By: wraggster

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Smash Bros. boss talks Wii U GamePad controls

August 8th, 2012, 02:33 Posted By: wraggster

The upcoming Wii U incarnation of Super Smash Bros. will not include "complicated controls just for the sake of it", the series' boss has promised.Smash Bros. godfather Masahiro Sakurai made the comments while discussing how the series will translate to Nintendo's new touch-pad console."The game system itself is complete, so we don't want to make it 3D or introduce complicated controls just for the sake of it," Sakurai told IGN. "However, I am thinking of ways we can introduce a slightly different, fun experience all the while keeping the usual frantic game play."Wii incarnation Super Smash Bros. Brawl offered support for the Wii Remote - but only sissies used it. Real gamers plugged in a Wii Classic Controller, or better yet a trusty GameCube pad."The GameCube controller is not the only way to control Smash Bros., so we will look into ways that fits the Wii U," Sakurai hinted.Details of how players will control the game's 3DS version are similarly under-wraps.The Smash Bros. boss also offered reassurance for fans wondering whether the game's new Namco-backed workforce would mean an invasion of Tekken cameos. The series had featured an entirely Nintendo-centric roster until Smash Bros. Brawl."I think Snake and Sonic joining [in Brawl] were fantastic. It made many fans happy, and it broadened the Smash Bros arena," Sakurai concluded. "However, introducing more non-Nintendo characters willy-nilly will lose the focus of the game, so I also recognise the need to narrow it down."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...mepad-controls

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Nintendo announces Pokémon 3DS app release dates

August 8th, 2012, 02:36 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo's upcoming Pokémon companion apps have been given European release dates.Need more information on your Nidoking? Pokédex 3D Pro will be available to download from the 3DS eShop on 8th November.The app is an upgraded form of the current Pokédex, and will cover every single Pokémon species and form unveiled to date.Nintendo will helpfully remove the existing free version from the eShop on 11th October - the day before Pokémon Black and White 2 are released in Europe. This is "to ensure players have acces to the Pokédex that will aid them the most while playing". Although the new version won't launch for another month.Pokémon Dream Radar arrives 12th October, meanwhile. That's the day before Black and White 2's launch. It allows you to catch critters that have invaded your living room through Augmented Reality. You can then transfer the monsters - and attached special items - into Black and White 2.Nintendo do not mention whether the apps will be free or not. In Japan the pair launched as paid downloads, with Pokédex 3D Pro costing as much as 1500 yen (£12).

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-release-dates

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bsnes 0.90

August 8th, 2012, 15:08 Posted By: wraggster

Super Nintendo/GameBoy/GameBoy Color/GameBoy Advance/Nintendo DS emulator has been updated recently. Changes:
Most notably, this release adds Nintendo DS emulation. The Nintendo DS module was written entirely by Cydrak, so please give him all of the credit for it. I for one am extremely grateful to be allowed to use his module in bsnes.

The Nintendo DS emulator's standalone name is dasShiny. You will need the Nintendo DS firmware, which I cannot provide, in order to use it. It also cannot (currently?) detect the save type used by NDS games. As such, manifest.xml files must be created manually for this purpose. The long-term plan is to create a database of save types for each game. Also, you will need an analog input device for the touch screen for now (joypad axes work well.)

There have also been a lot of changes from my end: a unified manifest.xml format across all systems, major improvements to SPC7110 emulation, enhancements to RTC emulation, MSU1 enhancements, icons in the file browser list, improvements to SNES coprocessor memory mapping, cleanups and improvements in the libraries used to build bsnes, etc.
File: Download
News source: http://byuu.org
http://emu-russia.net/en/

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HBB Updated Applications – Week 31

August 8th, 2012, 15:10 Posted By: wraggster

The following applications have been added/updated:
5 August 2012

• Bolt Thrower v0.62 -> v0.7
• BootMii Configuration Editor v2.6 -> v2.7
• DOSBox Wii v1.6 -> v1.7
• FBZX Wii v3.0 v5.0
• FCEU v3.2.9 -> v3.3.1
• Genesis Plus v1.6 -> v1.7
• Hero City 2 v1.2
• Newo Puzzle v1.2 -> v1.3
• Newo Runner v1.1 -> v1.2
• Newo Shooter v2.1 -> v2.2
• Snes9xGX v4.2.9 -> v4.3.1
• Starfield Demo v1.0 -> v1.1
• Visual Boy Advance v2.2.5 -> v2.2.8
• Wii Exhibit v0.1
• WiiMC v1.2.9 -> v1.3.0
• WiiTweet v0.3
• http://www.codemii.com/2012/08/05/hb...%93-week-31-3/

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bsnes-sx2 v009

August 8th, 2012, 15:10 Posted By: wraggster

The especially for Satellaview and Xband emulation created bsnes fork bsnes-sx2 has been updated.
For additional information visit the BS-X Project homepage.

Quote:
Changelog of bsnes-sx2 v009 (08/05/2012):
It´s been a while! Originally it was planned to wait for bsnes v090 first but since people have complained a bit about how slow the emulation was, I decided to release a new version, without the debugger, that´s what is making the very slow emulation. I also added the correct BS-X Memory Map, but it´s not tested. Sorry.
Changelog:
- Debugger removed for faster emulation
- Proper BS-X Memory Mapping added. (Note: This version isn´t tested.)

http://www.aep-emu.de/PNphpBB2-file-...c-t-19125.html

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WinDS PRO 2012.10

August 8th, 2012, 15:11 Posted By: wraggster

New update for WinDS PRO , PC application including 3 multi-emulators for the Nintendo DS ( No $ GBA / DeSmuME / iDeaS ) and 2 for the Gameboy Advance ( VBA-M / VBA Link) as well as various tools (customizable emulator / zoom / cheat / etc ...). Reminder: Uninstall the old version completely before installing the new.


Quote:

WinDS PRO 2012.10 Changelog:
- Updated Nintendo DS emulator DeSmuME JIT r4316 32 and 64 bits.
- Updated tricks to DeSmuME Nintendo DS and NO $ Zoomer.

http://www.nintendomax.com/viewtopic...91a578099f3a87

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UFO Defender v1.0

August 8th, 2012, 15:12 Posted By: wraggster

boot2490 offers version 1.0 of " UFO Defender "little arcade game where you are in control of anti-aircraft batteries and must protect your planet from the invasion of kamikaze saucer.


Quote:

Huzzah! I am not dead, and I Will Probably Be still making games and Such. Anyways, here is a quick pick-up-and-play shmup That Involves aliens, high quality custom graphics and music (in my opinion), and a real f explosions of your ***. It is the Year 30 trillion, and Earth is Being Attacked by year insanely huge horde of violently flammable UFO's. Emergency force fields Have Been Erected, They Are goal weakening by the second. Your job is to destroy as Many UFO's have Before the defenses can cave in, and then post your high scores here.

http://www.nintendomax.com/viewtopic...91a578099f3a87

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El Juego Del Mundo Más Difícil PRO v1.0 NDS

August 8th, 2012, 15:13 Posted By: wraggster

MagicBlack2009 offers version 1.0 of " El Juego Del Mundo PRO Más DifÃ*cil NDS "flash game adaptation of the same name for the Nintendo DS.

http://www.nintendomax.com/viewtopic...91a578099f3a87

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NightFox's Lib v20120804

August 8th, 2012, 15:13 Posted By: wraggster

KnightFox proposes a new update of its library C / C + + for developing games / applications for the Nintendo DS, the " NightFox's Lib ".

Quote:

New version of NFlib with the Following changes:
- Changed the maximum number of tiled backgrounds from 32 to 64.
- Detection of maximum addressable VRAM for sprites DEPENDING on the fashion started (1D_128 1D_64 gold).

http://www.nintendomax.com/viewtopic...91a578099f3a87

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Gekko Git (2012/08/08)

August 8th, 2012, 15:14 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

Gekko Git (2012/08/08) is compiled. Gekko is an open source great Gamecube(NGC) emulator. Gekko is an experimental Nintendo GameCube (NGC) emulator started in 2006 by ShizZy and Lightning. It features a very advanced 32-bit dynamic recompiler and its own OpenGL graphics core, and is capable of booting many commercical titles.

Gekko Git Changelog:
* removed commented code and an evil include
* fixed a bug in XFUpdateProjection decoding
* fixed a typo in converting the c4/c8 formats over to new video core
* changed some normal decodings, made XY position decodings set the Z value to 0
* removed unused code for when not using geo shaders, changed VCD_PMIDX->gp::g_cp_regs.vcd_lo[0].pos_midx_enable
* moved vertex manager reset to only occur at end of frame, added TLUT loading
* added MakeCurrent calls to old video core in case I need to use this again for debugging

http://www.mediafire.com/?4oabukpdha32a5l

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Dolphin Git 3.0-749

August 8th, 2012, 15:15 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/
Dolphin Git 3.0-749 is compiled. This is the trunk of Dolphin Project. Dolphin is the first Gamecube emulator able to run commercial games! Dolphin is a great Gamecube(NGC) and Wii emulator. It has a partial Wii support and plays most Gamecube games. Dolphin has been changed SVN to Git recently.

Dolphin Git changelog:
* Maintenance.

http://www.mediafire.com/?wuuckwbb4dfd8d3

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Fceux SVN r2595

August 8th, 2012, 15:17 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

Fceux SVN r2595 is compiled. FCEUX is a cross platform, NTSC and PAL Famicom/NES emulator that is an evolution of the original FCE Ultra emulator. Over time FCE Ultra had separated into many separate branches. The concept behind FCEUX is to merge elements from FCE Ultra, FCEU rerecording, FCEUXD, FCEUXDSP, and FCEU-mm into a single branch of FCEU. As the X implies, it is an all-encompassing FCEU emulator that gives the best of all worlds for the general player, the ROM-hacking community, and the Tool-Assisted Speedrun Community.

Fceux SVN changelog:
r2595
gtk: hide horizontal scrollbar in hotkey gui

http://www.mediafire.com/?7m1ks8nb6kkoji8

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DeSmuME SVN r4357

August 8th, 2012, 15:17 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

DeSmuME SVN r4357 is compiled. DeSmuME is an open source Nintendo DS(NDS) emulator for Linux, Mac OS and Windows. DeSmuME supports save states, the ability to increase the size of the screen and it supports filters to improve image quality. DeSmuME also supports microphone use on Windows and Linux ports, as well as direct video and audio recording. The emulator also features a built-in movie recorder.

DeSmuME SVN Changelog:
r4357
Cocoa Port:
- Add support for the new dynamic recompiler CPU emulation engine to the legacy port
- Legacy project build targets are now separated into distinct Intel and PowerPC builds
- Fix sound playback issue in the legacy port
- Add OpenGL 3D renderer support to the legacy port (but we're still use the software rasterizer, which is much faster and more accurate)

http://www.mediafire.com/?a995x9y3ycbz6j9

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Project64 Git (2012/08/07)

August 8th, 2012, 15:19 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

Project64 Git (2012/08/07) is compiled. Project 64 is a proprietary Nintendo 64 emulator for Windows. It employs a plug-in system that allows third-party software developers to create their own implementation of a specified component. Project64 allows the user to play Nintendo 64 games on a computer by reading ROM images, either dumped from the read-only memory of a Nintendo 64 cartridge or created directly on the computer as homebrew. Project64 started as an exercise by Jabo and zilmar in an attempt to see if they were capable of programming a Nintendo 64 emulator. It's open source now.

Project64 Git Changelog:
* fixed preprocessor defines for resampling audio

http://www.mediafire.com/?27u126sov8ad2dy

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GameBoy Online (2012/08/06)

August 8th, 2012, 15:32 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

GameBoy Online (2012/08/06) is released. GameBoy Online is a Game Boy and GameBoy Color emulator written in Javascript. It strives to be efficient and try to have a perfect compatibility. Currently the execution speed is not optimal even on browsers. For example on Chrome, which is nevertheless deemed to run Javascript faster on a PC running Windows 7 64-bit version with a double heart 2 CPUs at 2.2 GHz, games run at normal speed but almost skipping some frames.

The sound production is still experimental and rather poor quality. The video portion is by HTML5 or by creating images with BMP string URI. State backups are implemented using the object window.localStorage and are serialized / deserialized JSON. Ditto for backup SRAM.

GameBoy Online Changelog:
- Fix CSS issues

http://gameboy.grantgalitz.org/

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VisualBoyAdvance-M SVN r1108

August 8th, 2012, 15:34 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/


VisualBoyAdvance-M SVN r1108 is compiled. VisualBoyAdvance-M(VBA-M) is a [Super] Game Boy [Color / Advance] emulator for Windows, Linux & Mac. Here you can get information about the latest development build of the Windows version and download it while you're at it.

VisualBoyAdvance-M SVN changelog:
r1108
Added device change notifier to XAudio2 outputs

http://www.mediafire.com/?lsjbnop5mfpd05l

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Pasofami v1.6n

August 8th, 2012, 15:36 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

Pasofami v1.6n is released. Pasofami a japanese NES, SNES And GameBoy emulator.

Pasofami v1.6n ChangelogGoogle Translate)




1. Automatic creation of additional titles (Nes Sound File) NSF
(Title 41: Overseas: add 26 domestic title)

2. Extension to the ability to create NSF (This feature can also be used in the trial version Pasofami.)
• You can create another NSF file of selected music from the NSF file.
• You can create a NSF file by selecting the location of any file in the NES Play.
· NSF files created will be heard at the NSF player of your choice.
· Alternatively, you play the NES files can be written to a file while playing the sound output port of NSF file (NSD file).
NSD by reading this file, you can output MP3, WAV, MID, etc. Therefore, by its own processing.

3. File Explorer bug fixes Pasofami
· We have fixed the bug list scroll bar of the file list did not appear.
• If the display of the top of the drive, and then fixes a letter head of the file name does not appear in the list the file list.
http://www.mediafire.com/?g97gdnug9tt5f97

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WB bringing 'Game Party Champions' to Wii U this holiday

August 9th, 2012, 02:15 Posted By: wraggster

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Smash Bros. director says Wii U version will be familiar and focused

August 9th, 2012, 02:24 Posted By: wraggster

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Gold nunchucks for sale at North American Club Nintendo

August 10th, 2012, 00:22 Posted By: wraggster

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Toki Tori 2's Wii U 'Tokidex' detailed

August 10th, 2012, 00:23 Posted By: wraggster

Toki Tori2 was officially announced for Wii U today, and will be available on the console and Steam "soon-ish." Developer Two Tribes stated back in February that it planned to bring the chick-fil-adventure to the Wii U's eShop, but set its intentions in stone today on the company's site.

Two Tribes also discussed the Tokidex feature for the Wii U version, which will allow players to use the WiiPad as a virtual camera with a viewfinder. "Any creatures photographed will be added to the Tokidex." Heel, Nintendo lawyers! Sit!

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/09/to...idex-detailed/

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Nintendoware Weekly: Touch Battle Tank 3D, Super Mario Land 2 sale

August 10th, 2012, 00:28 Posted By: wraggster

This week is fairly light on content, with one new Virtual Console game on Wii (another Neo Geo fighter) and one new game on 3DS eShop (Touch Battle Tank 3D, an abstract-looking top-down tank shooting game).

A couple of deals are available that might be worth knowing about: Hulu Plus on Wii offers a free one-month trial, if you sign up between August 10 and September 23. And Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is one golden dollar cheaper this week on eShop.

There also appears to be a "3D Sports Highlights" video on Nintendo Video, featuring Lego recreations of Olympic highlights. Really.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/09/ni...rio-land-2-sa/

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Animal Crossing 3DS features gardening shop, real estate market

August 10th, 2012, 00:31 Posted By: wraggster

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Code of Princess arrives on 3DS October 9

August 10th, 2012, 00:35 Posted By: wraggster

Code of Princess, the Guardian Heroes-esque 3DS brawler (featuring members of the Guardian Heroes staff!) will be released in North America on October 9. Those who pre-order the game will get a "Sound + Visual Book" with selected art and music.

Before the North American announcement, the most famous aspect of the game was the wildly inappropriate way main character Solange dresses. Watch the above trailer closely to see how Atlus shifts the focus away from that aspect.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/09/co...3ds-october-9/

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Nintendo's expands its brave new digital world

August 12th, 2012, 01:30 Posted By: wraggster

The days of Satoru Iwata cowering behind the sofa at the mere mention of the internet are (mostly) behind us.
Nintendo has announced that New Super Mario Bros 2 will not be the only “full game� download to be made available on the Nintendo eShop next week.
The publisher will also make existing 3DS release New Art Academy: Learn New Painting Techniques and Share Your Art and Freakyforms Deluxe Your Creations, Alive! available for download.
Each game will be identical to its retail release (sans cartridge, box and manual – obviously) and will also offer twice the number of Club Nintendo Stars (100 versus 50).
On the face of it, this development may seem like small fry. After all, Sony’s PSN is rammed with “full game� downloads and Microsoft’s Xbox Games on Demand selection has grown significantly.
“We will initiate the so-called digital download sales, or the digital distribution of packaged software, in addition to the sales of packaged software through the existing distribution channels,� Nintendo president Satoru Iwatatold investors in April.
“In principle, starting from this software, the company will offer the software titles that Nintendo itself publishes in both packaged and digital download formats so that our consumers can choose the way to purchase them.�
Nintendo’s slow acceptance of digital retail has been spurred by changing conditions at retail and the fact that consumers are showing an increasingly willingness to adopt new digital models.
“Since the packaged and the digital download formats both have their own merits, we would like to offer both of these options to our consumers.�

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/ninte...-world/0101084

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3DS headlines Rising Star's autumn line-up

August 12th, 2012, 01:36 Posted By: wraggster

Rising Star Games will release four titles for Nintendo 3DS in the run-up to Christmas.
The UK publisher’s autumn 2012 line-up kicks off in September with cerebral platformer Shifting World, which features a striking black and white art style (pictured).
This will be followed by Girls’ Fashion Shoot in October, a title that will give young girls a glimpse into all aspects of the fashion industry.
A double helping of 3DS games will arrive in November: fishing title Super Black Bass and Japanese puzzle adventure Virtue’s Last Reward.
The firm still has plenty lined up for other platforms. Virtue’s Last Reward will also be released for Vita, while Xbox 360 and PS3 owners will be able to pick up retro shooter Under Defeat HD Deluxe Edition in October.
There will also be a new outing for the best-selling Jewel Master series in Cradle of Egypt 2, which will arrive on DS in October.
“These titles exemplify the range of experiences Rising Star Games brings to market,� said Martin Defries, managing director.
“We have a balanced portfolio of new releases across all the existing gaming platforms of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo – entertainment for everyone across the key selling season.�

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/3ds-h...ine-up/0101067

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Arc System Works bringing Vector Racing to US eShop

August 12th, 2012, 13:36 Posted By: wraggster

If you've ever wondered what it would be like if F-Zero and every game ever released for the Vectrex had a baby, wonder no more: Vector Racing appears to be that very thing. Originally an iPhone title from Sweet-Soft, Arc System Work's 3DS port of Vector Racing will come to the eShop on August 23 at an unknown price point, according to Siliconera.

The game features 12 line-art tracks, six outline vehicles and several different play modes, including Grand Prix, Time Trial, Versus and local multiplayer. No online multiplayer support, but the game does support leaderboards, which means you can find out who's caused the most retina damage in the shortest amount of time.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/11/ar...g-to-us-eshop/

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[N64] ControllerTest

August 12th, 2012, 23:19 Posted By: wraggster

New release for Neoflash comp:


Here is my entry to the 2012 compo


Video:

Nickname: sanni
Project Name: ControllerTest
From: Germany
Division: APP
Platform: N64
Original Enter: YES
Support Motion: NO
In last NEO Compo this project have won in the top 10: NO
Download: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/20912715/N64/ControllerTest.zip

This app lets you test your N64 controller. You can check all the buttons and also the analog stick.

For the analog stick is has a build in benchmark which you can use to compare the quality of different thumbstick replacements.

It even comes with some presets of the most common replacements and also from a brand new original thumbstick.


http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index....ic,7448.0.html

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[Multi-Platform+Open Source] BAGASM(RC2) -Assembly like scripting Interpreter

August 12th, 2012, 23:21 Posted By: wraggster

New release for Neoflash comp:

Nickname: BassAceGold
Project Name: BAGASM RC2
From: Canada
Division: APP
Platform: Currently compiled for PC, Supercard DS2, and Nintendo DS (as of RC3)
Original Enter: YES
Support Motion: NO
In last NEO Compo this project have won in the top 10: NO

I'm not entirely sure that this entry will be accepted or not based on its current platform ports, however, I will try entering anyway on the basis that it is open source, fairly portable, and retro in the sense it is based on an old programming language.

BAGASM is a portable interpreter for an assembly like scripting language in which
one can bind their own functions. The interpreter is written completely in C originally
for the Supercard DSTwo flashcard for the Nintendo DS, but can also be easily ported and compiled for other platforms.

Currently there is only a PC and Supercard DS2 port, the PC side uses SDL for graphics, timer and input functions which would make it really easy to port to the Wii or Dingoo if one wanted to.

An NDS port is in the works and there is a working build available, however it does not have all the features available to run the pong demo. (No sprite support yet)

The performance of this interpreter is not bad. Currently, a test program containing 843441 operations completes in 0.37 seconds on the 396mhz clock of the DS2. (As of RC2 build)

Changes from first release:
BAGASM RC2
-added JMPBK function. This will jump back to the line after a previous jump, requires no arguments
-removed $VMX define for video memory access and added SETPIX screen,color. This results in better video access performance
-constant values and jumps are now stored in the virtual ram (4kb) to improve read performance
-new memory access routines for better performance
-pc interpreter will now count the number of operations executed within a programs run time
-added white space handling to code parsing, can now use tabs or spaces to indent lines, and new lines to organize code. Functions still must follow "FUNC ARG1,ARG2" format (white space sensitive)
-vastly improved general performance (test program took ~1.5 seconds to complete in RC1, now it takes ~0.36 seconds to complete)
-moved some data off stack declarations to dynamic allocations for better memory handling and reduced errors for portable environments.
-white space doesn't matter before and after lines


Screen shots
Here is a screenshot of the interpreter running a game of pong on the PC version of the interpreter


And here is the exact same script running on the DS2


And here is the script if anyone is curious to see how its working.
https://github.com/BassAceGold/BAGAS...s/pong-neo.asm

Hello World!
Here is an example on how to write hello world for this interpreter:
Code: [Select]
;Any line with ";" as the first character is a comment, yay!

;This debug text flag is only good for the PC interpreter,
;Debug text slows the DS2 interpreter down a lot
;[Debug Text]

;Here we are setting the DS2 CPU speed to its highest value
;it does nothing on the PC interpreter though
[CPU_freq 13]

;_start: marks the start of the program, this is where white space
;starts to matter in function formatting

_start:

;this will output Hello World! to the console (top screen on DS)
;all function names are capital and must have 1 space after the function name before the first argument
;all arguments after the first one would be separated by a comma (",") with no trailing or leading spaces,
;however there is only a max of 2 arguments per function

PRINT "Hello World!"

;finally this will end the program
HALT



Downloads, Source, Documentation, and Example Programs:
can all be found at: https://github.com/BassAceGold/BAGASM
with instructions on running the compiled binaries or compiling your own.

RC2 is the build that is entered in the competition, but there are binaries that have been compiled with the RC3 source available for download in the Binary folder. Other test programs to run in the interpreter can be found in the All Programs directory.

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GRRLIB 4.3.2 released

August 12th, 2012, 23:25 Posted By: wraggster

GRRLIB is a C/C++ 2D/3D graphics library for Wii application developers. It is essentially a wrapper which presents a friendly interface to the Nintendo GX core. With it, coders can quickly and easily start creating graphical applications.
GRRLIB is supplied as a standard C/C++ library (aka. archive) called 'libgrrlib'. Because GRRLIB processes JPEG and PNG images, it requires the installation of the 'libjpeg' and 'libpngu' libraries. 'libpngu', in turn, requires 'libpng' and 'libpng' requires 'libz'. GRRLIB also has FileIO functions to allow real-time loading and saving of graphical data, and thus also requires 'libfat'. GRRLIB also has the possibility to use TrueType fonts, so 'libfreetype' is also required.

4.3.2 - August 12, 2012

• libpng was updated to version 1.5.12
• zlib was updated to version 1.2.7
• libjpeg was updated to version 8d
• FreeType updated to version 2.4.10
• GRRLIB_ClampVar8 was removed from GRRLIB
• Removed warnings from GRRLIB_LoadBMF

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Rumour: Wii U launch date set in US, delayed in Europe

August 13th, 2012, 10:48 Posted By: wraggster

A US launch date for the Wii U has been confirmed according to one report, while another has the console missing its launch window in Europe due to manufacturing issues.
GoNintendo has passed on word from a supposed GameStop employee source that Nintendo’s upcoming hardware will arrive Stateside the week of Black Friday. That pegs the US launch sometime between November 19th and November 23rd.
Non confirmation from Nintendo yet, but it certainly makes a great deal of sense for Nintendo to want the Wii U available in time for the busiest shopping day out of the year.
Elsewhere on the web and in the world, CVG is reporting that Wii U may have its launch pushed back a month over manufacturing troubles specifically relating to the Wii U GamePad controller.
Nintendo declined to comment when asked about the potential delay. Up to this point, the company has only listed a 2012 launch window for the console in all announced regions.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/rumou...europe/0101146

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New Super Mario Bros 2 is great. And it's £39.99

August 13th, 2012, 22:42 Posted By: wraggster

This Friday is an historic one for Nintendo.
The launch of New Super Mario Bros 2 marks not only the end of the barren summer (along with Square Enix’s Sleeping Dogs) but also the launch of the ‘New Nintendo’.
That’s because the game will be the first to be launched digitally via Nintendo’s eShop at the same time that it arrives at retail.
Of course, fellow platform holders Microsoft and Sony have been treading the digital waters for some time. But Nintendo has had a tough time of getting to grips with the internet.
The much-maligned Friend Codes are a well-established bugbear. Nintendo’s famously friendly consoles have never been allowed free reign on the internet, complete with its terabytes of swears and porns. They have always existed behind a robust (and often distinctly user unfriendly) and cuddly protective (probably goomba shaped) cushion.
The Wii U looks to be continuing this tradition, too, by on the one hand integrating social media of sorts into its UI and on the other requiring that all user comments are first vetted by a team of Nintendo police before being allowed free transit to their intended recipients.
But there are signs that Nintendo is ready to turn off its Safe Search filter, and the digital release of NSMB2 is the strongest one yet.
Until you realise it costs £39.99 to download.
Now, on the one hand you could argue that a game of NSMB2’s quality is deserving of a premium price tag. That could well be the case.
But this RRP has to be considered in the wider context of the modern handheld gaming industry. And, like it or lump it, this means considering it in the context of the iPhone.
Dig through the steaming piles of shovelware on the App Store and you’ll unearth genuine quality. What you won’t unearth, however, are any games costing £39.99.
Let’s take a look – Angry Birds (69p), Fieldrunners 2 (£1.99), GTAIII (£2.99), Minecraft (£4.99), Real Racing 2 (£1.49), Call of Duty: Zombies (£2.99), Flight Control (69p), Words With Friends (£1.99), Final Fantasy Tactics (£10.99), Plants vs Zombies (£1.99), Where’s My Water (69p), Cut the rope (69p), Max Payne (£7.99), LEGO Harry Potter (£2.99), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (£1.99), Flick Kick Football (£1.49), Infinity Blade 2 (£1.99) and Espgaluda II (£3.99).
Then there’s the games you can play for free – Dead City, Temple Run, Bejeweled Blitz, Draw Something, Dead Trigger, Jetpack Joyride, more Angry Birds and many, many more.
Yes yes yes – we know that an iPhone or iPad can never hope to replicate the accuracy of control offered by 3DS or Vita. But by the same token, Nintendo and Sony’s machine cannot match Apple’s price structure or convenience.
And don’t underestimate how important these factors are.
Yes, NSMB2 is right up there with the very, very best on iOS in pure quality terms. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that there’s no real quality on iPhone. There’s LOADS of it.
And what must also be considered are the changing demands of portable consumers. Can we attach the same value the triple-A Nintendo games as we did five years ago? A game like Angry Birds, Game Dev Story or Flick Kick Football can provide dozens of hours of entertainment.
Do they offer a console-like experience? No. Do they have to? No. Devs are getting wiser and are better than ever at designing around the strengths of the touch screen. Smartphone gaming has definitely grown up.
The result? iOS gaming is changing/has changed consumer expectations. A game like Angry Birds or Temple Run that can happily fill a spare 30 seconds or a spare four hours are the here and now. And it costs pittance. This is what NSMB2 is up against.
There will always be a core of consumers who aren’t satisfied with smartphone gaming and will pay a premium for a dedicated console. And good on them. But what we must realise is that their numbers are rapidly declining, and smartphone converts are rising up to take their place.
NSMB2 will be a big hit and Nintendo should be congratulated on yet another sterling title. But if it thinks that its new digital strategy will have any meaningful impact at all if it’s to charge £39.99 per title then, sadly, it’s in for a very rude awakening.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/opini...-39-99/0101155

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Nintendo dates Paper Mario 3DS, delays Luigi's Mansion in US

August 13th, 2012, 22:57 Posted By: wraggster

The platform holder's officially dated Paper Mario: Sticker Star for November 11 in the States, while Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moonhas been mysteriously pushed back to 2013.[h=3]Nintendo 3DS[/h]

• Angry Birds Trilogy (October)
• Bratz: Fashion Boutique (October)
• Lalaloopsy: Carnival of Friends (October)
• Moshi Monsters Moshlings Theme Park (October)
• Skylanders Giants (Oct. 21)
• TRANSFORMERS PRIME (Oct. 30)
• The Trash Pack (October)
• Wipeout 3O (ctober)
• Wreck It Ralph (October)
• Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (Oct. 23)
• Code of Princess (Oct. 9)
• Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game (Nov. 20)
• Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?! (Fall)
• Ben 10: Omniverse (Fall)
• Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion (Nov. 18)
• DisneyPixar Finding Nemo (September)
• Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure (September)
• FIFA 13 (September)
• Hotel Transylvania (Sept. 18)
• Hello Kitty Picnic (October)
• 50 Classic Games (October)
• American Mensa Academy (October)
• Junior Classic Games (October)
• Jett Tailfin (November)
• Harvest Moon: A New Beginning (Q4)
• New Super Mario Bros. (2Aug. 19)
• Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone! (Oct. 1)
• Crosswords Plus (Oct. 1)
• Style Savvy: Trendsetters (Oct. 22)
• Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (Oct. 28)
• Freakyforms Deluxe: Your Creations, Alive! (Nov. 5)
• Paper Mario: Sticker Star (Nov. 11)
• Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed (Nov. 20)
• Chevrolet Camaro Wild Ride (August)
• Old Skool Classics (September)
• Word Wizard 3D (September)
• Classic Games Overload: Card and Puzzle Edition (November)
• Rayman Origins (Q3)
• Imagine Babyz (Oct. 23)
• Imagine Fashion Life (Oct. 23)
• Petz Countryside (Nov. 6)
• Rabbids Rumble (Holiday)
• LEGO The Lord of the Rings (Fall)
• Spy Hunter (Fall)
• Scribblenauts Unlimited (Holiday)
• Unchained Blades (Summer)

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Digital New Super Mario Bros. 2 is £10 more expensive than retail version

August 13th, 2012, 23:03 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo has announced pricing information for its first wave of full downloadable 3DS games.
Much like with full PS3 games on PSN and full Xbox 360 titles on Xbox Live, 3DS owners can expect to pay a premium for downloadable versions of titles like New Super Mario Bros. 2.New Super Mario Bros. 2 will cost £39.99 to download from the Nintendo eShop, but will be available from GAME for £29.99.
The digital version of New Art Academy will set you back £29.99, a fiver more than it will in-store, and Freakyforms Deluxe will cost £24.99, versus £19.99 at retailers.
The only benefit we can see is that the downloadable versions are available from this Thursday, a day before you can pick them up in-store.
Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has said the company plans to offer all first party 3DS and Wii U titles both digitally and at retail going forward, noting: "Since the packaged and the digital download formats both have their own merits, we would like to offer both of these options to our consumers."

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...etail-version/

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Professor Layton, Style Savvy, and more new 3DS trailers

August 13th, 2012, 23:07 Posted By: wraggster

Along with a sudden influx of 3DS release dates, Nintendo quietly sneaked out new trailers for some of the newly dated – and newly announced – games. Above, experience the intrigue and drama of Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask.

After the break, feel the appropriate emotions as you watch trailers for Style Savvy: Trendsetters, Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone, and the eShop releaseCrosswords Plus.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/13/pr...-3ds-trailers/

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Devolution R120

August 14th, 2012, 00:41 Posted By: wraggster

No vacation for tueidj , which continues to refine his running Gamecube loader USB mode wii. This new version fixes compatibility issues with Prince of Persia, Metroid Prime 1 and 2 and Midway Arcade 2), and the swap disk with a cluster size <= 8Kb to. changelog: - fix bug When switching discs as possible were clusters with volume <= 8KB - fix regression for PoP patch - Rewrite patch for Metroid Prime 1 +2 to cover all regions Properly - enable paired singles instructions Before Launching (fixed Midway Arcade 2) - add workaround for bug in SDK's GXInitTlutObj ( )


(*) Note for the module loader: only the "loader.bin" present in "gc_devo \ data" is needed. It must be placed at a particular location, which depends on the loader you are using (see the FAQ of your loader to find out where the copy). Devolution R120 R120 Devolution (module loaders) (*)

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Dios Mios Lite 2.2

August 14th, 2012, 00:43 Posted By: wraggster

Following the release of Dios Mios (for loading of GC games since a FAT32 HDD), Crediar had put a little aside version "Lite" in his famous cmIOS (dedicated to loading games from the GC only front SD slot of the Wii). Version "Lite" was finally synchronized with the "standard" version a few days ago and therefore take all the new integrated Dios Mios. Note: D ios M ios and D ios M ios L ite share the same slot of installation (cmIOS). It is therefore possible to install one of the two versions, depending on your needs (for HDD DM, DML for SD).

Mini-tutorial installation and use: * Requirements: - The latest version of DM (L) attached - Wad Manager or Channel File Manager (or other software capable of install WAD) - A loader manager Dios Mios (Lite) 2.0 ( open wiiflow mod-R553 , usbloader GX r1193 , CFG loader mod r36 ) - A HDD compatible with a FAT32 partition, marked active , first on the HDD , formatted 32K if possible (DM) OR an SD card, if possible formatted 64K (DML) - A conversion software games: DiscEX , GCReEX or Gamecube ISO Tool (recommended) * Installation: - Install the latest version of Dios million (Lite) or with Wad Manager Channel File Manager (or other software capable of installing a WAD) - install the latest SVN version of your favorite loader (warning, the last compiled version is not necessarily the latest SVN version! ) - Your Games Gamecube must be converted, two size choices available to you: discEX or GCReEX. Gamecube ISO Tool has a graphical interface and can convert in both formats. - The format DiscEX (-c) is recommended because it keeps the game in ISO format + bootloader while GCReEX unpacks all the files (making writing and transfer of the hardest games) - The GC games will be placed in a directory "Games" at the root of the FAT32 partition of HDD (DM) or SD (DML) - The HDD should ABSOLUTELY be connected to port 0 of Wii USB (DM) * Usage: the loaders detect Dios Mios (Lite) and automatically look in the default directory "Games" at the root of a partition formatted as FAT32 and marked active, the HDD connected to port 0 the console (DM) or the SD card (DML). No specific setting is required, UNLESS you want to enjoy your games with 480p PAL, you can force the options of your loader. Beware though, this option may cause minor problems with some video games. If you have any problem (black screen or otherwise), you can check the official FAQ Mios de Dios , fairly comprehensive on the subject. ====== ================================================== === Changelog: 2.2 (2012-07-20) Added a new pattern DVDLowRead (fixed Luigi's Mansion and maybe USA Other Games) Made the DVDGetDriveStatus optional patch via a config since it broke Some games (DML_CFG_NODISC) (still Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Goblin Commander, King Kong, ...) (2012-07-18) Added code to Prevent drives going Into sleep mode Fixed bug has ignored the DML_CFG_PADHOOK Which setting and always patched PADHOOK (fixed PSO1 & 2) 2.1 (2012 - 07-17) Improved patch code and made ​​it more versatile Improved. elf patching code (fixed Nightfire) Improved No Disc patching Added a hack for PSO I & II EUR / USA Added the wide screen hack by Extrems The NODISC config setting has-been removed since it's beens unused since 1.0 Removed debug output USBGecko Dios Mios Lite 2.2 Official Site: https://code.google.com/p/diosmios/

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Classic Kong(snes)

August 14th, 2012, 00:55 Posted By: wraggster

via http://gbatemp.net/

Classic Kong is an new SNES Homebrew release by Bubble Zap Games. The source code can be downloaded from the google code page linked below.
http://code.google.com/p/classickong/

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puNES 0.66

August 14th, 2012, 00:57 Posted By: wraggster

NES emulator has been updated. Changes:
- Fixed some little bugs in the apu engine (sweep and triangle) and implemented the non-linearity and interaction between audio channels.
File: Download
News source: http://nesdev.parodius.com

http://emu-russia.net/en/

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bsnes 0.91

August 14th, 2012, 00:59 Posted By: wraggster

Super Nintendo/GameBoy/GameBoy Color/GameBoy Advance/Nintendo DS emulator has been updated recently. Changes:
A few issues crept up in the last release, this should take care of them.

First, it seems that the 32-bit runtime on 64-bit versions of Windows have 64-bit time functions; whereas true 32-bit Windows does not. This was causing a DLL error when attempting to load bsnes v090.

Second, when there were more than 2,000 files in the same folder on Windows, it was lagging the file browser. With OV2's help, I've fixed that and it'll now load the list instantly.

Lastly, I've included the missing video shaders this time.
File: Download
News source: http://byuu.org

http://emu-russia.net/en/

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FBZX Wii v5

August 14th, 2012, 01:04 Posted By: wraggster

FBZX is a Sinclair Spectrum emulator for Linux and was ported to the Wii by Oibaf: FBZX Wii

Quote:
Version 5
* Added precision emulation setting (floating bus, contention, interrupt timing)
* Added NTSC 48K machine
* Added 320X240 framebuffer resolution
* New screen setting menu
* Added framerate setting

http://www.aep-emu.de/PNphpBB2-file-...c-t-19139.html

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HalfNES v0.050

August 14th, 2012, 01:04 Posted By: wraggster

The NES emulator HalfNES has been updated.

Quote:
Lots of minor improvements for this release, and new mapper support as well.
Thanks to Nawrot Kryzystof for many of these fixes.

Added Mappers:
Mapper 10 (Fire Emblem, Famicom Wars)
Mapper 19 (Megami Tensei II, Rolling Thunder (J), etc.) with expansion sound
Mapper 34 (Impossible Mission II)
Mapper 38 (Crime Busters)
Mapper 64 (Klax, Rolling Thunder (U))
Mapper 70 (Kamen Rider Club)
Mapper 89 (Mito Koumon)
Mapper 93 (Fantasy Zone (J))
Mapper 94 (Senjou no Oukami)
Mapper 97 (Kaiketsu Yanchamaru)
Mapper 107 (Magic Dragon)
Mapper 140 (Bio Senshi Dan)
Mapper 152 (Arkanoid 2)
Mapper 180 (Crazy Climber)
Mapper 185 (Spy Vs Spy (J) but NOT Banana)
Mapper 200 (36-in-1 Multicart)
Mapper 203 (35-in-1 Multicart)
Mapper 240, 246 (More Chinese original games)

Fixed:
-Fixed DMC timing (passes DMC basics test and makes Bee 52 work better)
-CPU interrupt is delayed so CLI+SEI only causes 1 interrupt after SEI
(fixes Break Time, Hebereke)
-Fixed APU frame counter reset to within 1 CPU opcode of correct timing
-Fixed APU sweep behavior when clocked then immediately reset
(Super Mario Bros. sound effects, Driar wrong notes in music)
-Updated VRC7 sound to use new patch set from nesdev,
changed the way modulator feedback works, increased envelope attack rate
-Added CRC to options menu to make verifying dumps easier
-Fixed Uchuusen - Cosmo Carrier mirroring
-Fixed bug with file dialog where it wasn´t clearing the old name when loading
a ROM by double clicking

Broke:
- Lagrange Point intro was broken by the CPU interrupt change. Game is still playable.
http://www.aep-emu.de/PNphpBB2-file-...c-t-19129.html

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Capcom Wii U announcement 'very soon'

August 15th, 2012, 03:41 Posted By: wraggster

Capcom has confirmed to MCV that it will reveal its first Wii U game ‘very soon.' But it won't be shown at Gamescom, the publishers says.
Capcom has historically been a major support of Nintendo and its new platforms. The company has already released a number of titles on 3DS based on its top franchises, including Street Fighter, Resident Evil and Monster Hunter.
But so far it has yet to commit to Wii U. In fact, MCV understands that a number of publishers are preparing Wii U announcements – with only Ubisoft, EA and Warner Bros the major vocal supporters to the console thus far.
“There is a rumour that we are working on a Wii U game,� Capcom’s head of marketing for US and Europe Michael Pattison told MCV.
“It won’t be at this show. But we do have something waiting in the wings, and we will be talking about that very soon.�
Capcom held a press conference this afternoon at Gamescom, and it was very light on Nintendo properties. Instead, the company focused on its big core IPs including Resident Evil 6, Lost Planet 3, Street Fighter X Tekken, DmC: Devil May Cry and a brand new IP, Remember Me.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/capco...y-soon/0101226

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3DS XL Release in USA Not Long Now

August 15th, 2012, 16:52 Posted By: wraggster


We are only a few days away from the release of the Nintendo 3DS XL in the USA, the new console is way bigger than the original 3DS, infact 90% bigger and Nintendo actually claim the 3D effect is much improved now so thats a big tick for the new console, are you getting one at launch day? Let us know via the comments, if you live in japan or Europe and already have one, what do you make of it?

Those wanting more info can check out this ebay listing: http://www.ebay.com/ctg/Nintendo-3DS...pt=Video_Games

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New Super Mario Bros: 2 - 2 Days Away

August 15th, 2012, 16:56 Posted By: wraggster

To coincide with the release of the 3DS XL, Nintendo are just 2 days away from releasing the New Mario game for the 3DS in Europe and an extra 2 days on top of that for our friends in the USA.


Bowser has once again kidnapped Princess Peach, but this time, Mario has another objective. The Mushroom Kingdom is bursting with more gold coins than before. Each level is littered with gold as coins rain down from overhead pipes, trails of coins are left behind special gold enemies and gold pipes transport Mario into coin-filled caverns. It’s up to players to collect as many coins as possible throughout their adventure.

Not long to wait now, more info about the game here --> http://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Super-Ma...5042412&sr=1-1

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Everything you'll dance to in Just Dance 4

August 15th, 2012, 21:25 Posted By: wraggster

We were well aware of Just Dance 4's use of "Moves Like Jagger" (it would. not. stop. at E3.) Today, Ubisoft revealed the full track list for the game that is destined for massive sales, including Skrillex's weird buzzing noise, two Rihanna tracks, and the Time Warp?

Three tracks will be exclusive to the Wii U version. Real talk – we've never heard of any of them, . Just read the whole track list for yourself after the break.
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/15/ev...-just-dance-4/

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GoldenEye 007's multiplayer was added last minute

August 15th, 2012, 21:59 Posted By: wraggster

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Roundtable: Will Wii U Get The 3rd Party Support It Needs?

August 16th, 2012, 00:22 Posted By: wraggster

Our staff weighs in on the fate of Nintendo's upcoming Wii U launch
[h=3]Nintendo[/h]nintendo-europe.com


Nintendo's launch of the Wii U this holiday season will be one of the most interesting hardware launches to watch in the venerable company's long history. Both the economy and the games industry landscape have changed tremendously since the Wii was launched back in 2006. Consumers have less money to spend (or just don't want to spend as much) and there are now more options than ever, with the rise of smartphones, tablets, social and free-to-play. On top of that, price cuts and/or bundles are almost certainly on the way for Xbox 360 and PS3.
Nintendo in some ways caught lightning in a bottle with the Wii, and as the saying goes, lightning never strikes twice in the same place. Even the top brass at the company would fully admit that repeating the success of the Wii is a daunting task, to say the least.
One of the keys for the Wii U will be to engender strong third-party support - a feat that has always been difficult for Nintendo platforms, where first-party dominates sales and consumers' interest. While there are plenty of Wii U announcements to come still, the third-party software shown thus far has mostly failed to impress. With Batman: Arkham City as the third-party highlight for Nintendo at E3, and more recently, EA Sports confirming that the Wii U version of Madden 13 will be missing key features that 360/PS3 versions have (including physics), it's hard to be encouraged.
Moreover, just last week, Warner Bros. announced Game Party Champions for Wii U, an assortment of sports or arcade-style games. Is this actually the Wii U's destiny... either 360/ PS3 ports or casual fare of the sort the Wii was flooded with? Is this how third parties truly see the Wii U? And if so, how can this be anything but terrible news for the Wii U's prospects in a challenging market?
GamesIndustry International's writers share their thoughts in the roundtable below.
Dan Pearson
I think it's probably far too early to make a judgement call on this. If there's one thing Nintendo does consistently, it's to surprise those who've spelled out its doom. Having said that, software is obviously key to success, but I'm not sure that third-party is going to be what attracts buyers.
"What matters now is whether all of those millions of households with a Wii festering in a cupboard under the stairs will fall for it again"
Dan Pearson

Until Nintendo started hitting the 3DS with its incredibly valuable first-party IP, it was going nowhere. Labelled as overpriced and based on a gimmick, the handheld was underselling enormously. One Zelda, a couple of Marios and the odd Yoshi later and it's hit its stride magnificently, powering ahead of competition across the globe.
So yes, we'll see more of the same from Nintendo - they'll likely never stop iterating their solid-gold franchises - but they will sell, and they will sell systems. Games like Assassin's Creed III and Madden might sell a few, but I doubt anyone who really wants to get them early will wait for the Wii U version. Even more so for Call of Duty or Battlefield.
Third-party minigame collections and dance or exercise titles may review poorly and be labelled as shovelware, but they populate the system with titles you can't get elsewhere, playable in ways they wouldn't be on other systems. What matters now is whether all of those millions of households with a Wii festering in a cupboard under the stairs will fall for it again.
Steve Peterson
Yes, it certainly looks like the third-party support for the Wii U is weak, consisting so far mostly of ports and casual/party games (the interesting ZombiU and gorgeous Pikmin 3 notwithstanding). We shouldn't really be surprised; Nintendo has traditionally not worked very hard at lining up third-party support for their consoles because publishers were eager to put titles out for Nintendo's industry-leading hardware. By the time the Wii launched, Nintendo was no longer the console leader, and publishers mostly gave it perfunctory support.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...pport-it-needs

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3DS XL cradles hit EU shops on August 24

August 16th, 2012, 00:51 Posted By: wraggster

Cradles for the 3DS XL will go on sale in UK from August 24, according to online retailer listings.
Unlike the original 3DS, the fatter SKU launched in UK without a power adaptor or a cradle to perch the machine into for convenient charging.Power adaptors have been available separately, but as of August 24 - the date listed on both Amazon UK and Play (thanksNintendo Life)- 3DS XL owners will be able to grab both a new adaptor and cradle in one bundle for £19.99.
And all will once again be right in the world.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...-on-august-24/

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GAME OF THE DAY: New Super Mario Bros 2

August 16th, 2012, 23:37 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo’s unrelenting critics would have you believe its mascot’s latest handheld outing is ‘Mario by the numbers’. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
The moment 3DS owners start up the single-player mode of New Super Mario Bros 2, they will fall into one of two camps: the stalwart gaming veterans that are unable to resist the challenge of new, intricate and devious side-scrolling levels, or the newcomers taking their first steps onto discovering why many of us spent our childhood surgically attached to our NES and SNES controllers.
There is very little that will shock and surprise anyone that has played a 2D Mario platformer – let alone those that have encountered the NSMB series before – but few will be able to put this title down within the first hour. Time flies past in a blur of smashed blocks, flattened goombas and incinerated piranha plants before you remember your supposed to be indignant that Nintendo has dared to charge you £40 for something you’ve essentially played before.
This is partly once again thanks to the level design. While some may feel that Super Mario 3D Land’s levels felt a little sparse and empty, each one dependent on a single gimmick to coax you towards that all important flagpole, New Super Mario Bros 2’s stages are further proof of Nintendo’s prowess at 2D level design.
Each is packed with secrets: extra lives, the ever-enticing power ups and entire areas that you would never find without straying from the usual left-to-right path. Nothing emphasises this more than the return of the P-wing symbol from NES classic Super Mario Bros 3 – you’ve never found everything a stage has to offer until you’ve flown over it.
But that’s not Nintendo’s priority when it comes to marketing the 3DS blockbuster. The platform holder is instead focusing on the new Coin Rush mode, something that some might think of as a half-arsed attempt at a bonus mode. They would be wrong.
Three randomly selected stages, more coins, 100 seconds on the clock and one life.
On the face of it, Coin Rush comes across as a transparent ploy to eek out a few more gameplay hours by recycling levels wholesale. But instead, it taps into a compulsion that all Mario players have battled since the 1986 original.
We’ve all done it, diverted from our goal to get those five coins just sitting there in the open – fully aware that they accomplish nothing but edge us closer to that next extra life, of which we already have 50.
Throw in a ticking time limit, and those coins become even more tantalising. Do we risk going after them, or press onto the next inevitable batch of plunder? When we get the Coin Block Hat, which spews shiny things the faster we run, do we dash full pelt towards the level’s end, or hang around for those secret stashes?
These questions are not answered with careful strategy but reckless button mashing as you attempt to find that ideal route to bag the most coins before time runs out. The blocks and chasms of each level blur to form racing lines you try to perfect each time, with every death accompanied by the uncontrollable urge to have one more go, one more go, just one more...
And the ability to challenge friends and strangers via StreetPass, where you download the same random assortment of levels they faced, brings out the competitive nature that keeps a cartridge firmly in its slot for months.
New Super Mario Bros 2 arrives on shelves tomorrow, and while many – including your favourite trade site ­â€“ have questioned its oddly high digital price point of £39.99, there’s no denying the game’s potential to rake it in for Nintendo.
New Super Mario Bros 2 is released in the UK tomorrow. It will, for the first time, be released both at retail and via Nintendo’s digital eShop simultaneously.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/game-...bros-2/0101374

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Hyrule Historia coming to North America in January

August 17th, 2012, 00:06 Posted By: wraggster

A list of "January 2013 New Releases" on Diamond Book Distributors shows an English version of The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia, the compendium originally released in Japan in December. According to the info provided in the sales kit, the English version is being published by Dark Horse Books, and will retail for $34.99 on January 29, 2013.

The Historia is famous for including a timeline of the series' storyline, but it's also full of concept art and other material, all edited and collected by producer Eiji Aonuma.
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/16/hy...ca-in-january/

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Castlevania Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate delayed into 2013

August 17th, 2012, 00:08 Posted By: wraggster

Konami has confirmed a delay of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fatefor 3DS. It was originally announced as a fall 2012 game, but the 2.5D action game is now due in 2013. Konami did not offer a reason for the bump in its statement to Game Informer.

Konami did not delay the release of new screenshots, featuring returning heroes Alucard (the one with the white hair) and Simon Belmont (with his post-Castlevania Chronicles red hair).
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/16/ca...yed-into-2013/

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US Nintendo downloads: New Super Mario Bros. 2

August 17th, 2012, 00:12 Posted By: wraggster

It has begun. 3DS owners are now able to download full retail 3DS games via the eShop, as set in motion by the arrival of New Super Mario Bros. 2.
The game will be available for download starting midnight on August 19 alongside the release of the game in brick and mortar retailers. Whether or not you think the download option is worth the money is the question.It's otherwise a quiet week for US Nintendo downloads. Here's the list:
Nintendo eShop
New Super Mario Bros. 2 (available Aug. 19) - The bros are back for an all-new adventure worth its weight in gold! Be one of the first to get your hands on this game by purchasing and downloading directly to your Nintendo 3DS system from the Nintendo eShop starting at midnight on Aug. 19. (For Nintendo 3DS)
Coin Rush Mode Video - A series of videos are being released in the Nintendo eShop to give players a special look at New Super Mario Bros. 2. A new video highlighting the competitive Coin Rush mode is now available. (For Nintendo 3DS)
THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY (Add-on Content) - Tap and slide to the rhythm of more than 70 tracks from the FINAL FANTASY series. Check out the latest songs available for download. (For Nintendo 3DS)
Crazy Chicken: Pirates 3D - Restore peace to the Caribbean shores by pointing and shooting crazy pirate chickens in this frantic action game. You only have 90 seconds to complete your raid by slaying pirates and collecting all hidden treasures. (For Nintendo 3DS)
A Month of Mario
Mario's Picross - This week, "A Month of Mario" is featuring Mario's Picross. Starting today through Wednesday, Aug. 22, this mind-bending puzzle game is available at a discounted price of $2.99. (For Nintendo 3DS)
Also new this week:
Crazy Chicken: Pirates (Nintendo DSiWare)

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...-mario-bros-2/

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New Super Mario Bros. 2 Released Now In the UK/Europe

August 17th, 2012, 00:53 Posted By: wraggster


New Super Mario Bros. 2 was released in Japan a few weeks ago and has sold near on 800,000 copies, well today in the UK its our turn to check out the biggest 3DS release of the year.

Mario and Luigi are back, and this time, their task is to collect a million coins. Super Mario Brothers 2 is a continuation of the DS game released in 2006. Familiar characters and props, such as the Super Leaf are back. Transform the pipe cleaner into a raccoon and all sorts of creatures to make your coin collection as exciting as possible. Make the Golden Flower bloom, put on the ring to turn your enemies into coins, and put on the block mask to generate coins when the pipe cleaners run.

There are more mini-games. Collect as much coins as you can in just one life span in the coin rush mode. And when you are dealing extra challenging stages, ask your brother to come help you out as Luigi.



Each level is littered with gold as coins rain down from overhead pipes, trails of coins are left behind special gold enemies and gold pipes transport Mario into coin-filled caverns. It’s up to players to collect as many coins as possible throughout their adventure.
FEATURES:

• The game records all the coins players collect throughout the game, so completing a level is only part of the fun. Every level is filled with golden opportunities, such as gold rings that turn enemies into valuable gold versions and a Gold Flower that gives Mario the ability to turn almost anything in his path into coins.
• Coin Rush Mode allows players to collect as many coins as possible across three levels and challenge friends to beat their record via StreetPass.
• New Super Mario Bros. 2 is an all-new side-scrolling adventure game featuring Mario and Luigi. Two players who each own the game will have the option to play the entire game in two-player multiplayer mode using local wireless.
• The return of Raccoon Mario gives Mario the ability to fly and access hidden areas.
• Players will have the option to either purchase the game at retail stores or download the entire game through the Nintendo eShop.
  
  
  Amazon are selling New Super Mario Bros 2 for £29.99

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Nintendo Ranks Last In Conflict Minerals Report

August 18th, 2012, 19:25 Posted By: wraggster

"A new report by the Enough Project, an arm of the Center for American Progress, shows that companies like Intel, Apple and Microsoft have been successfully scaling back their use of conflict minerals in their products. Other companies have been less helpful. Out of the 24 companies surveyed and ranked based on their use of conflict minerals, Nintendo came in dead last, having made no effort to ensure that its products weren't funding guerrilla warfare in Africa. 'Nintendo is, I believe, the only company that has basically refused to acknowledge the issue or demonstrate they are making any sort of effort on it,' said Sasha Lezhnev from the Enough Project. 'And this is despite a good two years of trying to get in contact with them.'

http://games.slashdot.org/story/12/0...inerals-report

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Lego City Undercover: Open world Wii U exclusive looks promising

August 18th, 2012, 22:59 Posted By: wraggster

There was a time when Lego really was just blocks. When we were young each of the little plastic people (who flew rockets made out of castle walls) were only present to add scale to our mismatched creations. Their sociopathic fixed smiles did nothing to add personality to the world. So it's hard to imagine a story built around them. Cue Lego City Undercover.
Earlier Lego games sidestepped this problem, with movie and film tie-ins offering instant context to their charming humour and gameplay. While these licensed titles established a pleasing style for the Lego franchise, the little blocks have still got to prove that the brand can carry Nintendo exclusive Lego City Undercover without the support of Jones, Wayne or Solo.
But this initial scepticism aside, Lego City Undercover makes a good first impression. Taking an open-world design that owes a lot to GTA, we play the role of undercover cop Chase McCain, who hopefully apprehends plastic villains, melts them down and remoulds them as model citizens.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...oks-promising/

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Special Pikachu 3DS XL hits Japan, incites jealousy

August 18th, 2012, 23:00 Posted By: wraggster

Hardcore Nintendo fans know that when Pikachu graces a certain-to-be-rare Nintendo console, he seriously inflates its future value.
Nintendo has revealed a special Pikachu-themed 3DS XL (3DS LL in Japan) that will only be sold via the Pokemon Center store in Japan.The Pokemon Center will take pre-orders on the console from August to September 14, and it will be sold exclusively to pre-order holders, reports Andriasang.
It's unclear whether or not the machine will be produced in pre-defined limited numbers or stay in stock for a set period. But it will be sold for the regular price of 18,900, and you can bet your granny they'll go for a profit on eBay.
Right, where's the local release petition?

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...ites-jealousy/

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Black Ops 2 on Wii U tipped by Treyarch CV

August 18th, 2012, 23:02 Posted By: wraggster

Wii U is likely in line for some Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 action, it would seem.
If that news makes you happy, you have a Treyarch QA tester named Randall to thank for the info, having made the revelation in hisLinkedin CV (thanks IGN).Randall states that he's presently a "QA tester for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2," and that "duties include QA testing on PS3 and Wii U, multiplayer testing while collaborating with team, ad hoc testing, and regression".
You mean the unannounced Wii U version, Randall? Whoopsie!
It has already seemed highly likely that the game would be making its way to Wii U following reports in June of a Black Ops 2 preview in an issue of Nintendo Gamer.
And despite Activision having still not confirmed the game for Wii U, Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia has said he believes the game will hit the new Nintendo console this holiday, and "should contribute to incremental sales of the title and also the Wii U console".
Wii U, Nintendo's new HD console with a touch-screen on its controller, is set to launch at a still unspecified date later this year. Coming to Xbox, PS3 and PC this November, Black Ops 2 could feasibly join the festivities as a Wii U launch title.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...y-treyarch-cv/

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New Super Mario Bros. 2 downloads cover just 5% of Japan's sales

August 18th, 2012, 23:03 Posted By: wraggster

The ability to download full retail games on 3DS hasn't gone down too well with Mario fans in Japan, nearly all of whom chose to grab his new quest via traditional retail outlets.
Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata has told Wall Street Journal (thanks Joystiq) that just five per cent of sales in Japan were downloads.Japan's other digital offering, Brain Age sequel Demon Training, faired better with 20 per cent digital sales.
Iwata suggested that a greater portion of people bought Brain Age digitally because of the convenience of playing the mini games daily without having to carry/swap cartridges.
The CEO called initial digital sales "a good reaction" to the new initiative.
Considering the £39.99 price (£10 over a boxed copy) that UK customers must pay for the download version of New Super Mario Bros. 2, we can't see its digi-sales going down to well in the region either.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...-japans-sales/

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Saturday Soapbox: How do you solve a problem like Mario?

August 18th, 2012, 23:05 Posted By: wraggster

Currently sitting on a Metacritic average of just 78 per cent, New Super Mario Bros. 2 is comfortably the lowest-scoring mainline Mario game to date. That tally may be acceptable by many standards, but for one of gaming's most consistent performers, the numbers aren't good.The figure is well below the 87 per cent accrued by New Super Mario Bros. Wii, or the DS original's 89, while every other 2D Mario game released since Metacritic began aggregating data is in the nineties. You don't have to look too hard to spot the common thread here.NSMB 2 is still a fine game, no doubt, but time was when a new Mario platformer was something of an event. In his review earlier this week, Oli claimed to be "blasphemously bored" for portions of the game, and as a fellow Mario fan I'd be inclined to agree. When an argument can be made that it's not even the best platformer of the week - Jonathan Mak's musical oddity Sound Shapes may be flawed but it's undeniably the more inventive game of the two - then you have a cause for concern.NSMB2's secret worlds host some of its best stages, but the Star World can't hold a candle to Super Mario World's Star Road.

Or do you? The NSMB series is a massive seller and Nintendo as much as anyone needs the safe hands of a star performer like Mario, especially given the threat to the dedicated handheld market from mobile games. In a console business increasingly reliant on franchises, it's hardly surprising that Mario is more cash cow than sacred cow these days.Quite aside from that, there's also the small business of satisfying the demands of a market Reggie Fils-Aime recently claimed to be "insatiable", the result of which was the announcement of yet another 2D Mario, this time for Wii U. For the first time it seems we're likely to see two Mario platformers in the same year. But I'm not convinced this is the Mario that enthusiasts are still clamouring for. Still, it's sales rather than scores that are of most concern to Nintendo in the present climate.It seems unlikely that Nintendo is unaware of the irony in NSMB2's cash-grabbing conceit. It does, however, feel rather out of character for Mario, not least because there's no explanation for this sudden surfeit of gold. Wario would surely be a better fit for this scenario, even if he's hardly as big a draw as his arch rival.

"Maybe it's time for some of us to realise that we're not the target audience for these games any more."

A bigger issue is that this one gimmick is hardly enough to sustain an entire game. Outside Coin Rush mode it's essentially meaningless, beyond giving you even more lives than you'd normally accrue. There is, of course, an ultimate goal, but the reward for achieving it is in no way commensurate with the effort taken. It's fair to say the game will earn a million coins well before the majority of its players will.There's one particular design choice that suggests something of a creative malaise at the house of Mario. In EAD Tokyo's effortlessly brilliant Super Mario 3D Land - whose achievements are now thrown into sharper focus - Mario leaps up to hit a coin block, only to find his head getting stuck. He then leaps around awkwardly, hiccupping coins for a while until he finally disappears. It's a delightful, surprising pratfall; a wonderful subversion of expectations. It's used just a handful of time, and perhaps only that many to ensure no one missed it.Perhaps it's time the Koopalings were retired. Or at least given some more creative attack patterns.

In New Super Mario Bros. 2, it's back, only this time it's no longer a one-off, but a feature. Certain blocks you hit and keep on hitting will eventually turn gold; jump into them again and Mario ends up with a moustachioed block for a head. It's charming at first, but it's nothing more than a faint echo of a brilliant joke.Otherwise its inclusion is meaningless beyond allowing you to earn some extra coins, and though it initially seems to encourage riskier play as the coins emerge more quickly the faster you run and the higher you jump, you can earn the same amount by simply jumping on the spot until the gold geyser runs dry. It's symptomatic of a lack of inspiration when it comes to new ideas.Even Coin Rush mode, ostensibly a speedrunner's dream, lacks the purity of 3D Land's time attacks, where good old-fashioned speed is prized over the ability to exploit each level's richest coin deposits. The random selection of stages, meanwhile, ensures that score comparisons are hollow outside of the StreetPass challenges.

"For the first time it seems we're likely to see two Mario platformers in the same year. But I'm not convinced this is the Mario that enthusiasts are still clamouring for."

Perhaps it's unfair to single out NSMB2 for criticism when other problems have been rumbling beneath the surface for some time. The art style, for example, may have been tolerable for one game, but after three it's grown decidedly stale. From the original Super Mario Bros. through to Yoshi's Island, each game had a unique look; compare and contrast with the modern 2D games to see how times have changed. The Expressionist-inspired backdrops of the forthcoming Wii U version are about as visually adventurous as the series gets these days. Even the use of 3D in NSMB 2 is perfunctory, producing a depth-of-field effect that, while hardly unpleasant, offers little encouragement to nudge that stereoscopic slider upwards.Yet if Mario seems to be struggling to move forward, that's partly because his designers have spent a lot of time looking back. There's clear evidence here the pupils of Nintendo's in-house 'cram school' learned well from tutor Tezuka, while Mario's movement and inertia is as reliable as ever. He remains one of the easiest game characters to control, and despite subtle changes to how he handles in each game, you're instinctively aware of his capabilities as soon as your thumbs hit the d-pad and the B button. That sense of weight and motion is ingrained in the muscle memory of so many, never to be forgotten.The giant Boohemoth is one of the most successful additions, adorably peeking over its stubby hands before shuffling forward nervously.

And, at a time of uncertainty, you should never underestimate the comfort of the familiar. The 2D Mario games may have lost their capacity to surprise yet they're still loved by millions; indeed, flying in the face of critical opinion, they're much more popular than the 3D games. If New Super Mario Bros. does represent something of a creative dead end - even its fans would struggle to deny that the games lack the boundless invention of a Super Mario World or a Yoshi's Island - that doesn't seem to be affecting its popularity with the masses.That's partly because Nintendo - and games in general - lost a lot of people with the move to 3D. I'm sure most gamers will have encountered someone who can't really get their head around controlling characters in a 3D world, and that's a large audience that needs catering to. Nintendo attempted to bridge that gap with 3D Land, and as the biggest-selling 3DS title to date, it may have partially succeeded. But I imagine it won't take too long for NSMB2 to overtake it.Consider, too, that older players like Oli and I have played every Mario since the beginning, so the sense of déjÃ* vu is likely to be heightened. New players, the generation whose first experience of Mario was the original NSMB on DS, may wonder what the problem is. Maybe it's time for some of us to realise that we're not the target audience for these games any more.Yet while it's a shame the 2D games lack the antic brilliance of the older games, at least we have the 3D titles to fill that gap. The Galaxy games captured the spirit of generosity and invention that powered the 8 and 16-bit titles, while 3D Land suggested Nintendo has found the secret to combining the taut level design of classic Mario with the exploratory delights, single-stage gimmicks and off-the-cuff gags of the 3D era.In splitting the franchise in two, Nintendo knows it risks diluting the magic that we naturally associate with Mario games. But by the same token, it may just be the best way to meet the needs of two very different audiences. In other words, whichever generation you belong to, you'll be able to find the thing made you fall in love with Mario in the first place.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...lem-like-mario

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NintendoWare Weekly: Crazy Chicken: Pirates, Mario's Picross sale

August 18th, 2012, 23:14 Posted By: wraggster

New Super Mario Bros. 2 kicks off Nintendo's dual retail/digital distribution initiative on August 19. Before that, there's ... not that much new stuff to download on 3DS and DS this week. In fact, it's pretty much just Crazy Chicken: Pirates on both.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/16/ni...s-picross-sal/

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Trine 2 expansion 'Goblin Menace' revealed, included in Wii U version

August 18th, 2012, 23:15 Posted By: wraggster

Using Gamescom as its platform, Finnish developer Frozenbyte unveiled the continuing adventures of its three amigos by announcing 'Goblin Menace,' an expansion for Trine 2.

Other than being completely gorgeous (seriously, just look at it!), the Goblin Menace expansion adds six fresh levels in an all-new campaign along with new skills that are also available for use in the original Trine 2 campaign.

Trine 2: Goblin Menace will debut on Steam this fall before being included in the Trine 2: Director's Cut for Wii U this holiday season. More info, including additional platforms for the content and pricing, is set to come at a later date. In the meantime ... dat graphics!

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/16/tr...d-in-wii-u-ve/

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New Super Mario Bros. 2 & 3DS XL Released Today in the USA

August 19th, 2012, 02:53 Posted By: wraggster

Today is the biggest release day of the year for the 3DS in the USA, first off the new Larger screened 3DS XL is to be released and also New Super Mario Bros. 2 is also released:

First off heres all the info you need about the 3DS XL:



Its Now the 19th of August and Nintendo have finally released thier larger screened Nintendo 3DS Console called the 3DS XL, after a masssively successful release in Japan and a rather muted release in the UK, Nintendo will be hoping to sell a bucketload in the USA.

The 3DS XL features a 4.88 inch stereoscopic 3D top screen, which is quite a bit bigger than the 3DS's 3.53 inch screen. The bottom screen measures 4.18inch bottom screen, compared to 3.02 inches on the 3DS. Battery life will be anything from 3 and a half hours to 6 and a half hours. Also you now have a 4GB Memory Card instead of the 2GB card bundled with the 3DS:

The release colours are Blue/Black, Red/Black and Silver/Black.

The New 3DS XL also features the least reflective handheld screen in Nintendo history, and that's thanks to an additional anti-glare treatment that's been applied to its LCD screens, Reflectivity on the Nintendo 3DS was about 12%, but its been decreased now to about 3%.


Now heres all you need to know about New Super Mario Bros. 2

New Super Mario Bros. 2 was released in Japan a few weeks ago and has sold near on 800,000 copies, well today in the USA its our turn to check out the biggest 3DS release of the year.

Mario and Luigi are back, and this time, their task is to collect a million coins. Super Mario Brothers 2 is a continuation of the DS game released in 2006. Familiar characters and props, such as the Super Leaf are back. Transform the pipe cleaner into a raccoon and all sorts of creatures to make your coin collection as exciting as possible. Make the Golden Flower bloom, put on the ring to turn your enemies into coins, and put on the block mask to generate coins when the pipe cleaners run.

There are more mini-games. Collect as much coins as you can in just one life span in the coin rush mode. And when you are dealing extra challenging stages, ask your brother to come help you out as Luigi.



Each level is littered with gold as coins rain down from overhead pipes, trails of coins are left behind special gold enemies and gold pipes transport Mario into coin-filled caverns. It’s up to players to collect as many coins as possible throughout their adventure.
FEATURES:

• The game records all the coins players collect throughout the game, so completing a level is only part of the fun. Every level is filled with golden opportunities, such as gold rings that turn enemies into valuable gold versions and a Gold Flower that gives Mario the ability to turn almost anything in his path into coins.
• Coin Rush Mode allows players to collect as many coins as possible across three levels and challenge friends to beat their record via StreetPass.
• New Super Mario Bros. 2 is an all-new side-scrolling adventure game featuring Mario and Luigi. Two players who each own the game will have the option to play the entire game in two-player multiplayer mode using local wireless.
• The return of Raccoon Mario gives Mario the ability to fly and access hidden areas.
• Players will have the option to either purchase the game at retail stores or download the entire game through the Nintendo eShop.

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Platformer-2.5D

August 19th, 2012, 22:54 Posted By: wraggster

via http://gbatemp.net/

DS coder and GBAtemp community member relminator has released a new platformer demo. The download includes the game engine source, so others can use it for making their own DS homebrews. Join the on-going discussion linked below for the full scoop about this project.


QUOTE: Release Notes (08/16/12)

• This started off a a request by a friend of mine for a PC code that would make his life easier making a 2.5D platformer.
  
  The idea is to use screen-dimension-friendly coordinates for your 3d scene, low memory footprint and fast enough for any type of game. So this engine can also be used for Pacman clones, Space shooters, etc.
  
  It was easy enough coding it for the PC but very hard when I rescaled it to the DS. So instead of each tile being f32(16x16), I just used f32(1x1). Yeah DS's v16 vertex suxxors
  
  http://rel.phatcode.net/junk.php?id=122

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puNES 0.68

August 19th, 2012, 22:56 Posted By: wraggster

NES emulator has been updated. Changes:
- Correct a bug introduced in version 0.66 that in some circumstances, did not allow the filling of the audio buffer in time, producing a sound skipping.
File: Download
News source: http://nesdev.parodius.com

http://emu-russia.net/en/

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DS2x86 Status

August 19th, 2012, 22:57 Posted By: wraggster

I have not done anything to DS2x86 during the past week. I am rather busy at work again, and I have to admit that I am starting to lose interest in working on DS2x86. It seems that I am currently pretty much the only homebrew developer programming for the SuperCard DSTwo environment. As other programmers have moved on to other platforms, also the users either have already moved on or will move on soon. Looking at the recent posts on the Supercard SDK forum it is pretty evident that without BassAceGold and myself there would not have been much happening in that scene for the past several months.
The whole NDS homebrew scene is also long past it's peak, I think it was actually on the decline already 3 years ago when I began working on DSx86. Hard to imagine I have already worked on it for more than three years.. I suppose smart phones have largely replaced the dedicated handheld gaming devices nowadays. That is somewhat sad as architecturally Nintendo DS is a pretty neat device to program for. I do want to continue working on DSx86, but I am starting to think that perhaps the Nintendo DS hardware does not offer any more the kinds of interesting challenges and learning experiences that keep me interested in my hobby projects.
It might be interesting to look into Android programming, and possibly even port DSx86 to Android smartphones at some point. The potential user base would be huge, and my x86 ARM assembler code would be simple to port to ARM-based Android phones. I'm not sure how useful an x86 emulator would be on a smart phone that does not have a keyboard, and also any reasonably new smart phone has enough power to run a port of DOSBox, so perhaps my porting DSx86 to that platform would be rather redundant.
But in any case, I feel that after three years of working on DSx86 and DS2x86 I need to take a break. I have been toying with the idea of attempting to port my old LineWars II game to Android environment. After all, I began my Nintendo DS homebrew coding "career" by first porting LineWars II to it, and only after that I started on DSx86. Perhaps it would be a good idea to move into Android programming using a similar approach. If I indeed want to start coding for Android, which I have not decided yet. I'll take a break from hobby programming, at least while I am very busy at work, and then see what would be my next hobby programming project. Or whether I find some new interesting things to do for DSx86, as that is certainly also possible.

http://dsx86.patrickaalto.com/DSblog.html

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no$sns v1.3

August 19th, 2012, 23:06 Posted By: wraggster

Nocash has released a new version of his SNES/SFC emulator/debugger for Windows.

Quote:
Changelog:

no$sns v1.3 - 14 Aug 2012 - emulates nintendo super systems, pachinko, twin tap, barcode battler

14 Aug 2012 - no$sns v1.3
* controls: auto-disables any joypads that use same port as newly enabled one
* controls: emulates four twin taps (with multitap; keyboard keys 1..
* controls: emulates barcode battler (paste from clipboard, or manual key-in)
* controls: emulates miracle piano (keyb only, not the undumped synthesizer)
* video: added support for directdraw4 and directdraw7 structures
* emu: emulates NSS (z80, osd, rtc, prom, eeprom, inst-rom, controls, etc)
* emu: added pachinko controller (via analog joypad y-axis forward)
* a22i: added directives for generating NSS inst-roms (see magicflr.zip)
* help: added full nintendo super system (arcade cabinet) (NSS) specs
* help: added specs on sunsoft pachinko controller, fixed barcode battler specs
http://www.aep-emu.de/PNphpBB2-file-...c-t-19148.html

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Snes9x v1.53 (Test Build 13.08.2012)

August 19th, 2012, 23:07 Posted By: wraggster

A new Beta Version of Snes9x has been released.

Quote:
13.08.2012:
- 32bit rom loading stopped working
12.08.2012:
- IRQ fixes (jungle book, looney toons, tetris attack, brawl brothers)
- fast forward toggle hotkey
- half-width katakana display
- no "not a movie snapshot" errors during movie playback
- drag and drop support for movies

Short changelog since 1.53 for those too lazy to check github
- new APU from bsnes (removes most apu hacks, old states should still load)
- cg meta shader support in D3D
- rewind support, adapted from Themaister´s SSNES
(enable in emulation->settings, set hotkey in hotkey config)
- libsnes port, adapted from Themaister
- bps soft-patching
- various small emulation fixes

http://www.aep-emu.de/PNphpBB2-file-...c-t-19146.html

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DeSmuME SVN r4367

August 19th, 2012, 23:17 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

DeSmuME SVN r4367 is compiled. DeSmuME is an open source Nintendo DS(NDS) emulator for Linux, Mac OS and Windows. DeSmuME supports save states, the ability to increase the size of the screen and it supports filters to improve image quality. DeSmuME also supports microphone use on Windows and Linux ports, as well as direct video and audio recording. The emulator also features a built-in movie recorder.

DeSmuME SVN Changelog:
r4367
Cocoa Port:
- Video filters are now multithreaded! This significantly improves video filter performance on multiprocessor machines.

http://www.mediafire.com/?x6vmcqymfj3sxxx

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1964 SVN r146

August 19th, 2012, 23:18 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/
1964 SVN r146 is compiled. 1964 is a free Open Source N64 Emulator. It is one of the top Nintendo emulators arround that you can get with a high game compatibility rate.

1964 SVN Changelog
r146
Fixing issue 99
This should also fix crashes with Glide64

http://www.mediafire.com/?27edq9ndacn31b6

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Gekko Git (2012/08/16)

August 19th, 2012, 23:27 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

Gekko Git (2012/08/16) is compiled. Gekko is an open source great Gamecube(NGC) emulator. Gekko is an experimental Nintendo GameCube (NGC) emulator started in 2006 by ShizZy and Lightning. It features a very advanced 32-bit dynamic recompiler and its own OpenGL graphics core, and is capable of booting many commercical titles.

Gekko Git Changelog:
* Fix keyboard input for glfw.
* made enums c++ style
* updated call to core init to pass emuwindow for gekko-cli
* renamed 'interface' argument to 'controller_interface', as 'interface' is a reserved keyword in in visual studio
* Move keyboard input logic to EmuWindow implementation. Fixes Qt emu window input, probably breaks input for anything else.

http://www.mediafire.com/?vd5clc9w51gwy2w

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Fceux SVN r2612

August 19th, 2012, 23:29 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

Fceux SVN r2612 is compiled. FCEUX is a cross platform, NTSC and PAL Famicom/NES emulator that is an evolution of the original FCE Ultra emulator. Over time FCE Ultra had separated into many separate branches. The concept behind FCEUX is to merge elements from FCE Ultra, FCEU rerecording, FCEUXD, FCEUXDSP, and FCEU-mm into a single branch of FCEU. As the X implies, it is an all-encompassing FCEU emulator that gives the best of all worlds for the general player, the ROM-hacking community, and the Tool-Assisted Speedrun Community.

Fceux SVN changelog:
r2612
Taseditor: another experiment with lost_position logic (by midclick)

http://www.mediafire.com/?93yave2gdy6yi9i

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NESICIDE v.10

August 19th, 2012, 23:42 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

NESICIDE v.10 is released. NESICIDE is an Integrated Development Environment for the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). NESICIDE is a NES development application written with MFC and works only on Windows. The goal of NESICIDE2 is to bring this application into the modern age; it will support all 3 major platforms, as well as feature an easier to use interface. It will also have a community element that will allow users to share code, multimedia, and even entire projects/games. This is a new project and much is left to be done.

http://www.mediafire.com/?bp54ucrfcia7rbc

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New Super Mario Bros. 2 Illustrates Nintendo's Greatest Problem

August 20th, 2012, 21:35 Posted By: wraggster

There’s a new Super Mario Bros. game out for the 3DS handheld console. It’s called New Super Mario Bros. 2and features Mario, Princess Peach, Bowser, and the same fun gameplay you’ve come to expect from Nintendo’s most iconic game series. But this latest adventure stands out by not standing out at all."Read below for the rest of Jon's review.

http://games.slashdot.org/story/12/0...eatest-problem

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How do New Super Mario Bros 2 sales compare to the original?

August 20th, 2012, 21:58 Posted By: wraggster

SEQUEL WATCH: The latest data is in, and Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros 2 was the biggest selling individual format game released last week.
It managed No.2 in the Chart-Track All-Formats Charts, beaten by Square Enix's Sleeping Dogs.
But how well did it perform really? Should Nintendo be happy with the performance of its latest platform?
Much like New Super Mario Bros 2, the original New Super Mario Bros arrived at around 18 months after the launch of the console (Week 26 2006). But the market was in a far healthier state. Games retail generated roughly £16m during the launch week of New Super Mario Bros, in comparison, this week the High Street generated just £11m. There were no economic woes to worry about six years ago.
Also, DS was on the rise. The new DS Lite had recently been launched and Brain Training was performing strongly. During the launch week of New Super Mario Bros, £2.48m was made from sales of DS software alone. In fact, handhelds in general was enjoying a bumper summer as the No.1 game was Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories on PSP.
And yet, despite all this, New Super Mario Bros 2 has this week sold more units during its first seven days on sale than the original – 29.4 per cent more, to be exact.
So what does this tell us? Obviously Mario games have been continued big sellers on 3DS, there have been times this year when the Top Four 3DS games have all been Mario titles - Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, Mario & Sonic and Mario Tennis Open. So it hardly comes as a surprise that New Super Mario Bros 2 has performed admirably when compared to its original.
It is also an encouraging sign for Nintendo that in some areas 3DS is tracking ahead of its predecessor.
Yet the real test for New Super Mario Bros 2 is how its sales will grow. The original New Super Mario Bros kept selling for months and years to follow, and by the end of 2006 it had sold just shy of 450,000 copies.
That's a mighty high figure for any game to reach in today's troubled retail market. Yet even if New Super Mario Bros 2 doesn't quite hit those heights, it does look likely that it will be the 3DS game to beat well into Q4.

The data used in this report does not include digital sales of New Super Mario Bros 2.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/seque...bros-2/0101521

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Rumour: Black Ops 2 Wii U outed on LinkedIn

August 20th, 2012, 22:00 Posted By: wraggster

A Linkedin profile of a Treyarch QA tester suggests Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 will be making its way to Wii U.
IGN dug up the resume in question that states the employee has been working on both the PS3 and Wii U versions of the game since May.
Activision has yet to announce anything in regards to the title joining the line-up of Nintendo’s latest hardware.
Black Ops 2 is currently set for November on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/rumou...nkedin/0101508

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Making sure a baby is still breathing with lasers and a wiimote

August 21st, 2012, 23:39 Posted By: wraggster

[Gjoci] just became a father, and to make up for not having to carry a baby to term he decided to make himself useful in another way. He developed a sensor to detect a baby’s breathing, allaying the fears of nervous parents who are wondering why their child is so quiet.Unlike similar builds and products that rely on microphones or capacitive sensors, [Gjoci]‘s build uses the camera from a wiimote to triangulate points of light and detect motion.The build started off with infrared LEDs, but the batteries were big and there is always the possibility of the baby swallowing electrical components. [Gjoci] finally hit upon the idea of using small 1mW laser diodes to project points of light. This worked beautifully, and since newborns don’t move much there’s no danger of shining a laser into a baby’s eye.The rest of the build is just querying the camera every few milliseconds and seeing if the position of the reflections captured by the wiimote camera have changed. In two weeks of operation, [Gjoci] only had to respond to a few false alarms, and the hardware hasn’t crashed at all.After the break are three videos [Gjoci] put up for us that show a test of the breathing detection system, a demo of the alarm, and an example of the build in full operation. A very awesome build, and we look forward to this post being used as evidence of prior art in a patent dispute a few years down the line.
http://hackaday.com/2012/08/21/makin...and-a-wiimote/

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Nintendo: The handheld market is not shrinking

August 22nd, 2012, 01:46 Posted By: wraggster

Unlike the PS Vita, which many would argue should be selling better than 2.2 million, Nintendo's 3DS has been faring quite well, selling 19 million units worldwide as of June. While there are far more people in the world who own smartphones than Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata believes both markets can co-exist and he insists that portable gaming machines aren't going anywhere.
"I think a lot of this discussion is based on the premise that the handheld gaming device market is shrinking or vanishing and I don't think that is true and I'd like to address that," he told Kotaku.
He continued, "Something that [Nintendo of America president] Reggie [Fils-Aime] said at E3 was that the Nintendo 3DS hardware was selling more or faster than the DS, and I think that's something... that a lot of people are aware of. But something that Reggie also said is that the 3DS software sales were exceeding DS software sales." The 3DS had sold 10.5 million units of software in its first 14 months, which is more than the DS had sold in the same period of time.
"I think this is proof that even though we see an increase in smartphones and tablets and whatnot and there's obviously a huge flood of games in the market, I think the software sales that Reggie alluded to and pointed out really prove that these people, even with this flood of free games and whatnot for these portable devices-[these] non-game-centric devices-are not keeping people from purchasing software for dedicated hardware," Iwata said.
For Nintendo, one of the key differences between the 3DS and smartphones is the kind of experience that the 3DS can provide for more serious gamers. Iwata sees smartphones offering games that are more "time fillers."
"I think within games you have two needs that people fill. One is the time-filler need. The other is that it's a very important time for me and I want to have a rich experience. Those are two separate needs, I think," he said, implying that the iPhone offered more of the time-filler need.
"The other thing is how much are consumers willing to pay to play. I think that consumers who are willing to pay money for a gaming experience are looking for something that is more rich and are willing to spend some of that valuable time on that experience. I believe that as environments change and as the world progresses we're going to have different ways in which people want to spend their time. That being said, I don't think we're going to see the desire to have, again, rich and deep sort of gaming experiences... we're not going to see that vanish. That's not going to go away," he concluded.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-not-shrinking

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Wii U price to be revealed on September 13?

August 22nd, 2012, 01:49 Posted By: wraggster

Update: As spotted by GoNintendo, a Best Buy leak from an employee newsletter seems to indicate that pre-orders will start in September as well. The alleged internal email reads, "Wii U cannot be pre-ordered industry-wide until September. However, through the magic of BestBuy.com, customers can sign up to be notified via email when pre-orders become available."
Original story:
Nintendo is hoping to make a big splash this holiday season with the launch of the Wii U. There are two important questions that Nintendo has yet to answer. How much will Wii U retail for, and when will it hit store shelves? We just might get those answers on September 13 in the US.
GamesIndustry International received a media invite today for a special event. It reads, "Interested in learning more about how Wii U will change the future of gaming and entertainment? Join us for a presentation by Nintendo of America president and COO Reggie Fils-Aime followed by hands-on game play and demos."
Nintendo does not mention that it's going to reveal date and price, but time is ticking and the company knows that it needs to get that information out there so it can start marketing in full force with retail partners. We'll be sure to keep you posted on any news coming from Nintendo.

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Turning a DS into a Game Boy Advance

August 23rd, 2012, 00:03 Posted By: wraggster


The venerable Game Boy is dead – and has been for a long time – after being replaced by the DS, DSi, DSi XL, and the 3DS. That doesn’t mean there’s nothing of value to the old Game Boy catalog; Pokemon Red/Blue is still as much fun as it was 15 years ago, and the game play of Advance Wars is still superb.
[Maarten] over at Bureau voor Gamers decided to put a modern twist on our old friend by taking a first-gen DS and converting it to a proper single screen Game Boy (Dutch,Google translation).
The donor machine was a broken first gen DS with a broken top screen. [Maarten] removed the top screen, did a tiny bit of Bondoing, moved the speaker, and gave his new toy a bright orange paint job.
Now [Maarten] has a modern version of the best portable system ever created, packed full of more powerful hardware and a much more capacious battery. Sure, it’s not a build that requires rewiring everything, but it’s still an awesome build for GBA aficionados.

http://hackaday.com/2012/08/22/turni...e-boy-advance/

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Nintendo holding Wii U press event next month

August 23rd, 2012, 00:25 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo has announced it will host a Wii U press event in New York City next month.
The invite-only function takes place on September 13th and will be presented by Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime.
Nintendo states the event promises to reveal “more about how the Wii U will change the future of gaming and entertainment.�
Vague at best, but history suggests release date and pricing info could arrive via the presentation. New York City has served previously as host to both Nintendo’s Wii launch event and its 3DS release date announcement.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/ninte...-month/0101644

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New Super Mario Bros. 2 tops Japanese sales charts again

August 23rd, 2012, 01:50 Posted By: wraggster

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Nintendo Power's last issue will run in December

August 23rd, 2012, 01:57 Posted By: wraggster

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Final Fantasy 2 NES (English) cartridge Appears on Ebay - The Only One Ever Made

August 23rd, 2012, 15:27 Posted By: wraggster

Recently there has been some truly amazing collectors items appear on Ebay, nothing bigger than that Amazing Auction that went for over a Million dollars of many different Video Game sets for N64 and much more.

Well today our attention is turned to another listing on Ebay of THE ONLY ENGLISH FINAL FANTASY 2 NES Cartridge

Heres some info and pics:



This is a 100% authentic sample cartridge for the American version of Final Fantasy II for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
As most of you are no doubt aware, the original version of Final Fantasy II was never released in the United States. This particular cartridge was put together by the fine folks at Square Soft USA (a very small company at the time) to display at the 1991 Winter Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The plan was to release the game later that year, but instead, Square scrapped its 8-bit NES plans to focus on the new 16-bit Super Nintendo.

A pre-production sample cartridge for any video game from this era is rare indeed, but for one to survive for a game that was never actually released is something of a miracle. Having that unreleased game be a part of one of the most important franchises in video game history is basically unheard of.

I have been the proud owner of this cartridge for over nine years now, and as far as I am aware, this is the only legitimate copy of the game that exists. Any other copies you have seen of Final Fantasy II for the NES have been bootlegs, this is the real deal.

It has been stored securely since it was originally purchased in 2003, and until I took the photos for this auction, it had not touched a console since that time.



Do not let the "sample" text on the label fool you: the entire game is playable, in English, from beginning to end.

If you are a Final Fantasy fan or collector, it's hard to imagine a better item to sit at the centerpiece of your collection. The "holy grails" of the video game collecting world are only going to appreciate in value as time goes on, so if you want this, now may be your only chance.


Heres a video of the game in action:

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Social components are now 'mandatory' even in single-player - Iwata

August 23rd, 2012, 22:54 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo boss man Satoru Iwata has said that social features are now 'mandatory' in games - even single-player ones.
According to Iwata, connecting players in ways that allows them to interact - even when they're not online together - is now crucial to modern gaming."We have reached an era where even a single-player game experience [can] have a social component that is very important," he toldKotaku. "And I think that social component is mandatory."
Nintendo has a plan; Miiverse on Wii U is a feature that lets players share messages and/or tips about games with their friends. The home screen will have hoards of people's Miis gathering around the game icons that they're playing, and during gameplay, messages from other players can pop up at certain moments sharing their experience of that section.
Iwata compared this to pre-online gaming, when friends spoke amongst themselves about their experiences with games.
"Early on, when I played a Mario game, it was really fun for me to sit and chat with my friends about, 'Hey I found coins over here, there's a hidden place.' [or] 'This is how far I got.' That interaction was great," he said.
"Of course the Internet does provide a lot of that interaction, but it's not built for that purpose.
He later added, "What we really want to do is create a place where folks who are playing by themselves will not feel like they are playing by themselves. They'll be able to share those experiences and have that empathy."

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...-player-iwata/

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Indie fighting game Yatagarasu coming to 3DS eShop

August 23rd, 2012, 23:09 Posted By: wraggster

Cave Story publisher Nicalis is bringing a new fighter to 3DS eShop, with an impressive pedigree. Yatagarasu – that's the name given to the Japanese PC release, but it's due to change here – is developed by Circle Edge, a three-person team made up of former SNK talent including art director Styleos and designer Umezono. Weirdly, it features "a unique optional commentator system that mimics the tournament trash talk experience."

The handheld fighter will be on display at next week's PAX Prime, within the expanses of the Indie Megabooth.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/23/in...-to-3ds-eshop/

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Nintendoware Weekly: Metal Slug X, VectorRacing

August 24th, 2012, 00:34 Posted By: wraggster

It's a quiet week on Nintendo platforms (except, of course, for last Sunday'sNew Super Mario Bros. 2 launch), with just one new game per platform.

Wii Virtual Console fans can rescue hostages and blow up everything that isn't a hostage in Metal Slug X; 3DS owners get to see through the track in VectorRacing; and DSiWare has a sort of submarine exploration game calledAbyss.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/23/ni...-vectorracing/

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