Dragonminded Quits the Scene

October 1st, 2006, 11:07 Posted By: wraggster

Whenever a coder leaves any scene its sad, in this case hes the coder of the rather excellent DSOrganize, obviously theres events beyond this site thats affected his decision:

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Classic Nes Wii Controller

October 1st, 2006, 11:12 Posted By: wraggster

Seems that theres gonna be a Nes Wii controller, excellent for gettting the perfect feeling whilst playing NES games via the Virtual Console.

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Wii Storage Bags

October 1st, 2006, 11:16 Posted By: wraggster

Some Official Nintendo Wii accessories have been unveiled - The smaller bag is the game and accessory case which holds up to 8 games at a price of £14.99. Then theres the Wii console carry bag which holds the Console and a ton more priced £29.99

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One friend codes per Console on the Wii!

October 1st, 2006, 11:18 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo Europe confirmed that only one friend code per console and not per person using the Wii:

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News from The Chuckster

October 1st, 2006, 11:24 Posted By: wraggster

Heres what the author of Stella and Doom for the DS posted at his site:

My graphics card has been overheating. I moved some of the PCI cards away from it and took canned air upon it, but the damage has already been done. So that puts an end to my programming for a while because anything graphically intensive (even X Windows) causes it to lock up. I would greatly appreciate help in this way. If you have any extra cards laying around or happen to work for NVidia or ATI and can spare me a card, your help will not go unnoticed, so drop me a line using the Contact link to the left.

I've made some contributions in my spare time to the DS homebrew community, and a lot of people use and appreciate such projects as StellaDS and DS Doom, which I have made free of charge for everyone to enjoy. I've also helped as much people who have had technical problems with my software as I've had time to. Not to mention, I have shared the source code to three of my projects, making my intellectual property available to any budding programmers to look at. Hopefully, the right eyes are reading this (and a lot do .

I also snuck in some time to make a short page for DS Doom that has a few extra DS Doom related stuff (stats, Carmack quote, movie) and points to the actual DS Doom site.

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Kraln.com Speaks Out

October 1st, 2006, 11:27 Posted By: wraggster

More DS Scene drama seems to be the topic today, always interesting to watch from a distance but not if your in the middle of it, heres whats said at Kraln.com:

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Comic Book DS

October 1st, 2006, 11:30 Posted By: wraggster

News/release from Paco_777

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Wiimote retail box unveiled

October 1st, 2006, 20:13 Posted By: wraggster

Well it looks like the Wiimote retail box has been unveiled by who knows how on Flickr via a NeoGAF forum post. We realize it's just an accessory box but are trying to stay consistent with every single unveiling of such an elusive console. If a single Wii is dropped from a shipping pallet come November, rest assured we'll cover it here.

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Metareview - Cooking Mama (DS)

October 1st, 2006, 20:16 Posted By: wraggster

Via Joystiq

We lost track of Cooking Mama, assuming it would never wash up on shores outside of Japan. We were surprised when it popped up in a recent release list and picked up a copy right away. This quirky cooking simulator features Japanese-heavy dishes, with a lot of deep-frying and uncommon oceanic ingredients. Reviewers have been giving it points for originality, but docking it for longevity:

Yahoo! Games (70/100) - "So while there isn't all that much on the menu, the fast-paced and simple gameplay can't fail to raise a smile, at least for the first few plays. Most will set it aside after that, but it's priced at a decidedly value-conscious $20 -- less than the cost of a good steak."

GameSpot (69/100) - "You might glean a bit of info on what goes into some of these dishes, but this isn't a virtual cookbook. There are no precise recipes to be accessed anywhere in the game. There's also no multiplayer component of any kind, though the advertised four-player wireless icon on the back of the box might lead you to believe otherwise."

IGN (70/100) - "The big question: is any of this fun? Though the entirety of this game is simply doing what you're told as quickly as possible, it's actually an amusing game if you're not expecting much out of it."
Give Cooking Mama a shot, especially if interested in the culture of Japanese food. We don't think it would hold up without the menu of shumai wontons, octopus dumplings, and other unique treats.

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NDS: Lego Star Wars 2 Review

October 1st, 2006, 20:26 Posted By: wraggster

WhiteX from Emulation 64 has posted a review of Lego Star Wars 2 for the Nintendo DS:

Heres an excerpt:

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Time may be right for new Nintendo console

October 1st, 2006, 20:52 Posted By: wraggster

Via MSNBC

Over the years, the industry has shown a knack for granting no more than two consoles a fighting chance at any given time. Atari and Intellivision were doing fine in the early 1980s until ColecoVision crashed the party. Then you had Nintendo and Sega own the next few console generations, easily vanquishing systems like 3DO and Atari's Jaguar.

The elasticity of that theory was stretched when Microsoft rolled out its Xbox in 2001. At that point, Sony owned the market with its PlayStation and had introduced the PlayStation 2 a year earlier. Nintendo was the distant silver medallist in the process of upgrading its gamers to the GameCube platform.

Microsoft's introduction came at Nintendo's expense as Sony was able to own two-thirds of the global market. However, with Microsoft and Nintendo running neck and neck domestically, the industry was able to absorb all three players as legitimate standards. Game publishers were left with little choice but to service all three systems, even though both Microsoft and Nintendo made sure that they had their own proprietary "must have" franchises to keep their owners loyal.

Four years ago, I suggested that Nintendo drop out of the console race and stick to its handheld and software strongholds. I don't see it that way anymore. In fact, even though Nintendo is taking some pretty risky chances in launching a revolutionary system, I think the climate couldn't be better for Nintendo.

However, before digging into the prospects of Nintendo, it's important to explore why the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are vulnerable.

I'm one unhappy camper when it comes to my Xbox 360. I had to ship it out to McAllen, Texas, two weeks ago when I got the dreaded "three red flashing lights" hardware failure error.

It's a common flaw. Microsoft even has an entire page devoted to it, and it's also one of the prompts on its customer service line. I've owned just about every major console since I was old enough to earn an allowance, and this is the first one that went bonkers on me within the first year of ownership. Thanks to what I see as a pretty skimpy warranty -- and my boneheaded ways for not looking into an extended warranty -- I'm out $139 plus shipping. I still don't know if I'll be getting my original unlucky machine back or some other refurbished reject, but at this point, my faith in Microsoft is about as buggy as my 360.

Naturally, I reserve the right to change my mind once Halo 3 hits stores next year. Until then, I'll just gripe about seeing red (literally) and feeling gypped after overpaying for software titles that don't offer a whole lot more than their sixth-generation versions.

Then we have the PS3. The company has teased gamers with product delays. Now, a problem with its Blu-ray drive finds the company nearly halving the number of units it expects to have on the market in time for this year's holiday selling season. The price tag -- at $499 to $599 -- is also steep given the limited resources of younger gamers.

More Info

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Super Card Rumble Screens

October 1st, 2006, 20:56 Posted By: wraggster

3 Screenshots of the Supercard Rumble Flash cart have been released and yes it a flash cart that has the rumble feature:

Does Rumble interest you ?

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Amuz DS 01/10/2006 Release

October 1st, 2006, 21:07 Posted By: wraggster

franck569 has updated his homebrew game for the DS:

Heres what he posted:

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Dsftp 2.21 Updated

October 1st, 2006, 21:12 Posted By: wraggster

bjoerngiesler has updated his FTP app for the DS, heres whats new:

Changes:
Fixed Wifi allocation bug. Do not use 2.2 anymore! Use this instead!

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DSCrawl v1.0 by Sasq

October 1st, 2006, 21:18 Posted By: wraggster

Sasq has released the first non beta of his homebrew game for the DS, heres the release info:

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3D Shmup v0.0.2

October 1st, 2006, 21:27 Posted By: wraggster

Darkmath has updated his 3D space shooter for the Nintendo DS, looks like hes added new backgrounds too.

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Demineur Updated

October 1st, 2006, 21:48 Posted By: wraggster

Beda has released a new version of a rather nice looking puzzle game? for the Nintendo DS:

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Which DS Accessories Do You wish for Mostly ?

October 1st, 2006, 22:58 Posted By: wraggster

IM sure like all DS fans we want more accessories for our DS or DS Lite, personally id like to see a TV Hook up which may come with the Wii ? who knows.

But what would be the killer accessory for you ?

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The rebirth of Gamecube Homebrew

October 1st, 2006, 23:00 Posted By: wraggster

For what is a powerful console, the Gamecube has a severely lacking homebrew and emulation scene, what can we do and the homebrew community as a whole to make it better and entice new developers to join the Gamecube scene ?

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Wii Channels in English

October 2nd, 2006, 20:42 Posted By: wraggster

Here are the first screenshots of the Wii's innovative Channel's with English text. The new shots show the Message Boards, Virtual Console and Mii Channels in action, with the crazy squiggles of previous shots replaced with text us normal folk can understand.

According to sources at Nintendo, the Wii Channels are still in development and so these shots aren't final, but it's all looking pretty good to us. One thing though- it looks like every retro game you download from the Virtual Console will get its own Channel thumbnail, with one shot showing five retro games each on different thumbnails.

Could be messy business if, like us, you plan on grabbing a fair few titles. We're hoping users will have the option to assign these games to thumbnails from a more compact list of downloaded titles.

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Original MiniSD , MicroSD , Flash drive now available with low price!

October 2nd, 2006, 20:46 Posted By: wraggster

News from Divineo China

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Squenix signs up Mario

October 2nd, 2006, 20:59 Posted By: wraggster

Square Enix has announced that it's currently working on a new Itadaki Street game for the Nintendo DS.

For those who aren't familiar, Itadaki Street is a board game-based series that's big in Japan. It revolves around opening up shops and charging other players rent when they occupy your areas on the board.

Back in February, you may recall, Squenix revealed that a PSP version is on the way, and that it'll star playable characters from Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.

Itadaki Street DS will also feature DQ characters, but the game's true star will be our old friend Mario. He'll be joined by a host of other familiar faces from the Super Mario Bros. series, including Slime.

Little else is known about the game so far, other than the fact you'll be able to play online via Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connect service.

There's no telling whether the Itadaki Street DS will make it to Europe - but with Mario's big fat face making an appearance, you never know...

Via Eurogamer

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Wii is watching you

October 2nd, 2006, 21:37 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo's Wii console will feature a system called Play History, a permanent record that keeps tabs on what you're playing, when you're playing it and for how long. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata hopes Play History will "stop games being regarded with hostility in the family".

The Play History record cannot be deleted and is designed to "allow parents to discuss with their children how much they are using the console," says Shinichiro Tamaki, of Nintendo's research and development department, during an interview on Nintendo's official website. But the original idea, from Iwata, was far more controversial.

"I came up with a suggestion," Iwata explains, "perhaps a rather outlandish one! What I thought was that if a parent said that their child was only allowed to play games for one hour a day, how about making it so the console actually turns itself off after an hour? Of course, the console would save the game data before it switched off!"

Nintendo's research suggested Iwata's idea was unworkable, despite some people thinking that "without such an extreme solution, mothers would always hate computer games". Eventually, the idea lead to the alternative of a Play History feature.

Whatever your thoughts about the feature - it's effectively just a more sophisticated version of the play time stats you get with many saved game files - Play History shows just how focused Nintendo is in making Wii a console that is bought for the whole family, not just a single gamer. Whether Ninty's ambition will be realised is another question - we'll just have to wait and see.

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Wii Update: Wario, Virtual Console, Zelda, Heroes

October 2nd, 2006, 22:07 Posted By: wraggster

Via Spong

Following on from Sony’s successful showing at TGS last month and Microsoft’s equally successful X06 event in Barcelona last week, it’s nice to be able to sit down on a Monday morning and remind you of the latest news from the third contender in the next/new-gen race. Read on for all the latest news (with trailers) on some of the hottest Wii features and titles in development – Zelda, Wario, the Virtual Console plus, from the team that brought you Killer 7, the awesome-looking Heroes.

One of SPOnG’s most anticipated Wii titles - after Zelda - is the manic micro-gaming genius that is Wario Ware: Smooth Moves. While it doesn’t look like we’ll be playing Smooth Moves till early 2007, we’re still eager to see the final version. You can read our initial preview on Wario's first Wii outing on SPOnG to get a flavour of what’s in store.

You might also want to check out this handy trailer that’s just gone up, courtesy of GT TV, which gives a good idea of how the game plays (ie incredibly easy to pick up, dastardly difficult to put down).

Next up, also courtesty of GT TV, there's a peek at the Wii’s Virtual Console which, with a back catalogue of games to die for, is surely going to give Xbox Live Arcade a serious run for its money in the casual/retro download arena.

And there’s more. SPOnG first heard about the new Wii title Heroes last week, and while details are still scarce, we can tell you that it is being developed by Grasshopper Studio/Marvelous Interactive (and being overseen by Suda 51, the Killer 7 guy). We can also direct you here to see the jaw-droppingly good trailer on Project Heroes which gives you a pretty good idea of what the game’s about.

If you like Manga and loud rock and roll, plus having massive shiny weapons for arms, then this is one for you. Best line in the trailer: “Your shining armour and fine words won’t get you anywhere!”. Quite.

Last, but by nowhere near least, there’s the full seven minute Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess trailer which of course, is a must see if you haven’t yet swooned over it. The montage trailer contains all you need to see, from fishing to boss battles. Fill yer boots.

Roll on Vee-Wii Day on December 8.

Tons of Videos at Spong

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Tamagotchi Connection Corner Shop Screens

October 2nd, 2006, 22:22 Posted By: wraggster

Got several new screens of Tamagotchi Connection Corner Shop for you to look at.

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SNEmulDS v0.2 for Max Media

October 2nd, 2006, 22:44 Posted By: wraggster

Archeide posted a new MAX MEDIA version of SNEmul DS!!

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Astro Licker

October 2nd, 2006, 23:32 Posted By: wraggster

ttursas has released Astro Licker for the Nintendo DS, heres the info:

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Wright Flight - Multiplayer Gravity Force style action

October 2nd, 2006, 23:35 Posted By: wraggster

ttursas has released Wright Flight for the Nintendo DS, heres the info:

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NoNameDS v1.6

October 2nd, 2006, 23:47 Posted By: wraggster

Kaktus621 has released a new version of his Icy Tower game:

Heres whats new:

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Command and Conquer Clone for DS Project News

October 2nd, 2006, 23:49 Posted By: wraggster

Some more news from the Command and Conquer Clone for DS Project:

I downloaded the latest stable releases of the libs from sourceforge, but found my game started to instantly crash Dualis. Looking at the logs I think it was an undefined call to the ARM9 processor. By a process of elimination I narrowed it down to the initialise function for the file system. I tried to downgrade my libraries with no luck

I could carry on developing with the SDL port, but I'm at a point where I really need to make my DS changes first, and I can't with this problem. I had another go at grabbing the files from the sourceforge CVS and tried another program, the great TortoiseCVS. WinCVS is lame. I have been able to check out the files I wanted, and maybe later tonight I'll be able to get up and running again.

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METRO-PARIS - Paris metro map

October 3rd, 2006, 00:05 Posted By: wraggster

Christ posted this news/release:

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[Demo] PassingBy

October 3rd, 2006, 00:07 Posted By: wraggster

Mollusk posted this news/release:

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Multi-Language Translator

October 3rd, 2006, 00:10 Posted By: wraggster

Mollusk posted a great new App for the Nintendo DS:

Heres the full info:

I put together a very quick rough draft of a multilingual translator... It's sloppy, coded in a few hours time, just to see if I could manage a fast enough code

There is NO interface, just some text output, sorry !

Dictionnaries can be added easily using PAFS

http://www.palib.info/Roms/NewTranslator.zip French-English English-French
http://www.palib.info/Roms/NewTranslator2.zip (supports French-Spanish and French-German (and vice versa...), but the rom weighs 20MB

oh, and some french characters aren't in the current font, I'll add those some other time

Databases come from here :
French databases : http://www.freelang.com/dictionnaire/index.html
English databases : http://www.freelang.net/dictionary/i...tml#list_alpha

I'll add the base program with no dictionnary...
To add dictionnaries, download the .wb files from one of the websites... Add in the Files folder, run PAFS.bat, and you're set
No dico version : http://www.palib.info/Roms/Translator.zip

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Mario vs Dragon Quest

October 3rd, 2006, 00:16 Posted By: wraggster

Square Enix has successfuly taken Mario to the court with Mario Basket 3 on 3, and now it's attempting to do the same with board games. The Final Fantasy publisher announced today Itadaki Street DS, the latest installment in its long-running board game series, and the first to feature the world's most famous plumber.

While the PlayStation 2 and PSP entries in the board game series featured a Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest crossover, Square Enix has teamed up with Nintendo this time around. Itagaki Street DS will feature characters and themes from both Dragon Quest and Super Mario Bros.

Sadly, aside from the logo, which hints that Mario and Slime will appear in the title, we don't have details on which characters and stages will appear in the game.

Gameplay details are also a mystery at this point. Square Enix has announced that WiFi support will be included, so you'll be able to play over the internet with your buddies.

Although relatively unknown in America, Itadaki Street is quite popular in Japan thanks in part to its connection with the Dragon Quest series. The focus of the game is on raising money by opening up shop and charging other players as they pass over your real estate.

Recent installments have earned worldwide attention thanks to the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest crossover, the first such cross-licensing for the two mega properties. With an appearance by Mario, and Dragon Quest's recent worldwide success, perhaps we'll at last see this series in our parts.

Via IGN

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Capcom Teaches Japanese

October 3rd, 2006, 00:17 Posted By: wraggster

The DS already has a bunch of kanji learning programs (we count at least five), but what about those who want to brush up on their Japanese as a whole? Enter Capcom, whose latest DS title aims to teach proper Japanese.



At least that's what the Megaman publisher's latest game seems to be about. Official details on "Tadashii Nihongo DS" haven't been given out -- not in Japanese, and certainly not in English -- but seeing as how the title translates to "Proper Japanese DS," we're probably not too far off.

As a note, rather than attempting to appeal to the small, but important, but small (but important), group of foreign-born Japanese learners out there, this game is probably meant to help brush up the language skills of native Japanese speakers. We'll let you know how much it helps the non Japanese type once we've gotten our hands on the title.

And that will be... well, we're not sure just yet. Tadashii Nihongo DS appeared out of nowhere today on a list of titles to be shown in the Capcom booth at the upcoming Games Festa 2006 in Osaka, which is sort of like the Tokyo Game Show except a $250 bullet train ride to the south from the world's biggest city (rather than a $6 train ride to the east), and on a much smaller scale. We're talking tents here!

The game will presumably be playable at the Osaka game show, but aside from that, we don't have a release date.

Via IGN

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Mega Man Dated, Milked

October 3rd, 2006, 00:18 Posted By: wraggster

First there was Pokemon Red and Green. One game, two versions. Sales doubled, and everyone wanted in on the act.

Enter Capcom, whose Rockman (aka Mega Man) character enjoyed popularity amongst Japanese youths following the airing of a successful Saturday morning anime (or as they call them over here, cartoon). Capcom's released its Game Boy Advance Mega Man Battle Network games in two packages, each containing a separate set of characters.

Battle Network died on the Game Boy Advance. And in its place came Ryusei Rockman, or Shooting Star Rockman, or Shooting Star Mega Man, or Mega Man Star Force (only one of these is the tentative American title... we'll let you figure out which one!). And in place of two SKUs came... three.

This latest Rockman game will hit Japan on 12/14, Capcom announced today. It will be available in three forms: Dragon, Leo and Pegasus. Each version will cost 4,800 yen and will feature a different version of the blue hero for when the five year old main character, Subaru, decides he needs to transform in order to get things done..

Capcom is positioning this title as its big 20th anniversary celebration event for the series. It's unclear if the company hopes gamers will actually buy all three versions. But with the Ryusei Rockman anime (cartoon) starting up on Japanese TV this Sunday morning at 8:30, we're sure there'll be enough diehards who do just that. And then next time, maybe there'll be four!
Via IGN

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Gunpey DS Preview

October 3rd, 2006, 00:19 Posted By: wraggster

Heres an excerpt:

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WiFi VoiceChatClient 1.3

October 3rd, 2006, 02:32 Posted By: wraggster

Infantile Paralysiser have updated the Wifi voice chat app for the Nintendo DS, heres whats new:

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Good news, DS-Xtreme Release date announced :D

October 3rd, 2006, 06:34 Posted By: emuking

The release date for the DS-Xtreme has been announced by the DS-X development team

Read below for their latest post on their site also try the link to find out additional information about the DS-Xtreme

LATEST NEWS! DS-XTREME LAUNCH DATE ANNOUNCED

As production reaches its final stages we are delighted to announce the much anticipated “official” release date of our new product, the DS-Xtreme. Targeted release date is now set for Thursday the 12th of October. Initial stocks are scheduled to ship out of factory on the 12th and then direct out to your favorite reseller by Monday the 16th. Demand has far exceeded all expectations, so all pre-orders will be fulfilled as a priority. If you have not yet placed your order hurry to avoid disappointment!

You can preorder this latest new flashcart for the Nintendo DS from Divineo Spain, Divineo Germany, Divineo USA, Divineo China, Divineo UK

via www.ds-x.com

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Wii upholds Cube region lock

October 3rd, 2006, 11:05 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo UK has confirmed to Eurogamer that the Wii's region locking will extend to GameCube games.

A company spokesperson also said that Virtual Console game releases would not be universal - in other words, European gamers will get European versions of the games.

The news paints a slightly clearer picture of the circumstances surrounding Wii's backwards compatibility in the run-up to the console's 8th December launch.

The console is known to be compatible with all GameCube software, and peripherals including controllers and memory cards, while Virtual Console will deliver titles from systems including NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64, Megadrive and TurboGrafx at the rate of around 10 per month.

In answering our queries, culled from some of your recent forum threads, Nintendo also said that it expects to release RGB and component video cables that fit current pricing models.

It declined to comment on recent reports, supposedly surfacing in Nintendo Power, that Virtual Console will also host Commodore 64 games in future.

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Megaginormous NES replica dwarfs competition

October 3rd, 2006, 11:21 Posted By: wraggster

One serious Nintendo fan attempts to prove that size does matter by building a large-scale Nintendo Entertainment System. The massive wooden replica is eight feet wide, three feet high, three feet deep, and weighs over 400 pounds ... and that's without a game cart or controller. With those specs, it clocks in only slightly larger than the original Xbox, or the 360's power brick.

A mysterious crafstman, who posts on NESforums.net as Nationalgamedepot, originally built the NES as a bed but now plans on using it as an entertainment center. Hopefully he'll take orders, because this looks spiffy. Plus, if you get yourself a giant NES controller, you've got a complete set. Miniaturization be damned.

Screenshot Via Comments
via joystiq

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How the Wii was engineered (or "born")

October 3rd, 2006, 11:25 Posted By: wraggster

Ars Technica explores lower-than-expected GameCube sales in the wake of Wii's birth as Nintendo's fifth generation home console. The piece discusses runaway costs of video game development, Wii's admittedly risky business, the engineering of the game box, and Nintendo's overall "less is more" approach to console design this go around. From the article:

"'More glitz' is always welcome in any new generation, but at some point one runs into laws of diminishing returns. [One Nintendo engineer] wondered if advances in technology could be used in a different way. The Wii was designed to take processor technology improvements and use them to make the unit run with less heat, by making the chips smaller. This enabled features that other consoles couldn't duplicate, such as the ability to leave the console powered on all the time [read: WiiConnect24]."

The article suggests that "always on" technology and internet connectivity via WiiConnect24 were just as important in the Wii planning process as motion-controls. An idea is one thing (and don't get us wrong, WiiConnect24 sounds intriguing), but execution is another.

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Roll your own Mii, pre-Wii

October 3rd, 2006, 11:29 Posted By: wraggster

After months of secrecy, Nintendo unveiled the Wii's remaining features at a series of press events around the world last month. In addition to the much-rumored prices and release dates, the system's last secret was revealed to be the Wii Channels system. Key amongst the various channels is the ability to create your own virtual avatar in teh Mii channel, and play that character in titles like Wii Sports.

Yann, one of our amazing readers and the designer of the equally incredible orange Joystiq tee, just sent us over his latest creation: A Mii channel implemented in Flash. How accurate is it? Yann says, "The Mii parts are drawn from videos and stills of the working Mii channel and, apart from the second page of eyebrows which is still missing (couldn't find any picture or video of it), everything is true to the real thing."

Despite an unintimidating interface, I'm completely unable to create a Mii that looks like Mii ... errr, me. I've created several, one of which looked strangely like Dick Nixon. Any of our more artistically inclined readers have better luck creating a Mii that looks like them?

Try it out

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New Releases for Nintendo DS from Play Asia

October 3rd, 2006, 11:37 Posted By: wraggster

Newly released today, heres the listing:

Alex Rider: Stormbreaker US US$ 39.90
Bubble Bobble Revolution US US$ 39.90
Coating Filter DS Lite US$ 5.90
Rainbow Islands Revolution US US$ 39.90
Mage Knight Destiny's Soldier US$ 39.90 .

More info / buy here --> http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...9-en-84-n.html

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New Releases for Gamecube from Play Asia

October 3rd, 2006, 11:40 Posted By: wraggster

Newly released today, heres the listing:

Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 US US$ 49.90
Baten Kaitos Origins US$ 49.90 only.

More info / buy here --> http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...9-en-84-n.html

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Mario & Yoshi Keychain

October 3rd, 2006, 11:43 Posted By: wraggster

New from Playasia



features
Official Mario Keychain
Size: Approx 7cm
Limited availability

More info / buy here --> http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-1m7x.html

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Protector Skin for DS Lite

October 3rd, 2006, 11:49 Posted By: wraggster

New from SuccessHK



The Silicon Protector Skin is made of high-grade silicon, providing a comfortable and improved feel for extended game play. It is also a stylish and robustsolution to protect your DS Lite console from damage and scratches. The protector Skin has been designed to allow full access to DS Lite controls with quick and easy installation.

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Window Shop with New Screenshots of Tamagotchi® Connection®: Corner ShopTM 2

October 3rd, 2006, 12:03 Posted By: wraggster

NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. announced today that new screenshots from Tamagotchi® Connection®: Corner ShopTM 2 are now available for download. Based on the wildly popular Tamagotchi® virtual pet, Corner Shop 2 will be released for the Nintendo DS this winter. Taking on the role of shop keeper, players will partner up with their favorite Tamagotchi pet as they work to fulfill the whimsical desires of customers in a variety of mall stores.

Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 2 features all new shops such as the Bowling Alley and Sushi Bar, as well as old favorites like the Flower Shop and Concert Hall. Stacking cheeseburgers made to order, loading wasabi onto pieces of sushi, and hand tailoring gym bags with pink ribbons are just a few of the services offered to the Tamagotchi shoppers. As players tend to their customers’ needs, they earn “Gotchi Points.” These points can be used to care for their Tamagotchi partner by purchasing stylish new outfits, rock’n stereo systems, and much more. Players can also connect to their friends via wireless to trade items, give gifts, or send each other screenshots and notes.

For more information on Tamagotchi products, please visit: www.tamagotchi.com

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Wii Browser Price Undetermined in US, Says Reggie

October 3rd, 2006, 12:11 Posted By: wraggster

"In fairness, for the Americas, we haven't made the business decision for how and what we're going to do with the browser. We recognize for most people a browser is pretty standard. The concept of charging a significant amount of Wii points to get the browser is somewhat challenging. We're going to work through that."

Fils-Aime seems to contradict the press release, suggesting Nintendo of America simply hasn't decided what will happen with the browser, and that we really could end up forking money over at launch. We'd like to hear Nintendo's rationale on why this is a necessary move for the Americas -- what makes Japan's desire to web browse on Wii any different?

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Charlotte's Web Screenshots

October 3rd, 2006, 15:30 Posted By: wraggster

Some new screenshots of the game Charlotte's Web have just been handed to us from Sega Europe.

Check em out via Comments

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Super Mario Bros Collection Mate w. candy (10 pcs/box)

October 3rd, 2006, 17:24 Posted By: wraggster

New from Divineo China



- 5 different versions of super mario bros characters
- Total 10 boxes in a factory sealed container
- 4cm - 9cm height for each figure
- Candy is included in each box

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DS sales help Nintendo increase profit forecasts

October 3rd, 2006, 19:00 Posted By: wraggster

The continued success of Nintendo's DS handheld, combined with a weak yen, has resulted in the company raising its net profit projections for the year to March by 18 per cent.

Nintendo now expects a net profit of 100 billion yen (EUR 667 million), up from 83 billion previously projected.

The company expects to shift 82 million DS game units along with 3.3 million GBA sales during the period.

Nintendo recently announced it expects to sell 10 million DS hardware units in Europe by the end of the year.

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Wii Ethernet Kit coming

October 3rd, 2006, 22:21 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo revealed today that it will release an Ethernet Kit for Wii, which allows users to connect the console to a standard internet router without wireless support.

It's undoubtedly good news after concerns that the lack of an Ethernet port on the Wii meant that the console could only connect to the internet via wireless link-up.

For people without a wireless-enabled router, this would mean purchasing a new router or the almost non-existent Nintendo WiFi Connector (that USB dongle thingy). But with the Ethernet Kit available, non-wireless gamers have nothing to worry about.

Those of you who connect your DS to the internet with the Nintendo WiFi Connector can use the same device to connect the Wii. And most wireless routers will also be compatible with the Wii's built-in WiFi technology. So everyone should be online with Wii. Bring on Mario Kart!

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Nintendo Wii should retail for $199 only

October 3rd, 2006, 23:19 Posted By: wraggster

Via IGN

So I'll tell you exactly what I told both Perrin Kaplan and Reggie Fils-Aime when they asked me the same question, which is, I believe Wii is $50 too expensive and three weeks too late.

As a gamer, I want Wii to sell for $200 for a number of reasons. It has about one tenth the processing prowess and one fifth the RAM of, say Xbox 360, and it also lacks a true hard drive. It doesn't play DVDs. It doesn't play music CDs. Yes, you read that correctly and yes, it's true. In fact, in many ways, it could be called a turbo-charged GameCube. So why the $249 price point?

Well, there are certainly reasons for it. It's easy to shrug off Wii as the least powerful of the three consoles, but consider what Nintendo has done. Wii is roughly half the size of GameCube and it still packs twice the power. It has roughly double the processing prowess, approximately double the RAM, an additional 512MBs of useable flash memory, built in 802.11b/g wireless capabilities and a full docking station for GameCube controllers. The console is backward compatible, in fact, with every GCN title ever made. And I haven't even mentioned its Wii Channels system or, most importantly, the Wii controller, which could represent one of the biggest hardware innovations the industry has seen in years.

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TranslatorDS

October 3rd, 2006, 23:29 Posted By: wraggster

Mollusk updated his translator for the DS, heres the info:

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Pokemon Tops a Million

October 3rd, 2006, 23:40 Posted By: wraggster

The DS has a new fastest selling game, and not surprisingly, it begins with a Poke. Pokemon Diamond & Pearl sold 1,586,360 units in its first four days of sales over in Japan, sales tracker Enterbrain reported today. This demolishes the previous record holder, New Super Mario Bros., which managed 865,024 units in its first week.



In case there was any concern about Pokemon's popularity being on the wane, here's another stat for you. Enterbrain's sales figures make Diamond & Pearl the fastest selling Pokemon title ever, topping Gold & Silver, which sold 1,425,768 units in its first week in 1999.

A separate sales tracking service, Media Create, has provided stats on the individual versions of the game. Diamond was apparently the more popular of the two, with 813,237 units sold, compared to Pearl's 762,029 units. The total doesn't match the Enterbrain figure, but this is usual for the different sales tracking data.

Diamond & Pearl will hit American in 2007, and is expected to see similar success at retail.

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PES running on Wii

October 4th, 2006, 17:36 Posted By: wraggster

There's been no official announcement regarding Pro Evolution Soccer coming to Wii from Konami, but PES producer Shingo 'Seabass' Takatsuka has confirmed to CVG it's in development and testing right now.

According to Seabass, the game is playable on Nintendo's next-gen system and they're experimenting with various controller options.

The team is said to be looking at using the Wii remote and Nunchuk for throw-ins, passing and even shooting.

Seabass also revealed that he's heard whispers of EA getting busy in R&D, by looking at strapping a remote device to a player's foot for shooting. Quite what that turns out to be we don't know, but you can bet that it'll have FIFA in the title.

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Bubble Bobble Revolution

October 4th, 2006, 17:47 Posted By: wraggster

New commercial DS game released:



Originally released as an arcade game by Taito in 1986, Bubble Bobble starred two dinosaurs - Bub and Bob who co-operate to make their way through a hundred levels to rescue their girlfriends. This addictive two player game went on to be released on most console formats. Now the game is reborn on the Nintendo DS with all new graphics, split screen action and the classic gameplay. 100 new exciting levels to explore. All new power bubbles and bubble attacks. Microphone activated challenges and Bubble mini-games. Includes a perfect re-creation of the original Bubble Bobble arcade machine game.

More info / buy here --> http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?pro...1&lsaid=219793

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Guilty Gear Dust Strikers

October 4th, 2006, 17:49 Posted By: wraggster

New commercial DS game released



The no holds barred, sci-fi fighting franchise is reborn on the Nintendo DS. Guilty Gear Dust Strikers features all 21 Guilty Gear characters from previous versions, but now the battle takes place on multiple levels across both DS screens with up to 4 players at once. Players have to navigate different types of floors and traps as they battle versus CPU characters or via wireless connections in "battle royal" rules where the last person standing is the winner. The game features six modes of play including Arcade, Story and VS Battle plus seven unique touch screen mini games and a Robo Ky Factory where you can customize your fighting moves.

More info/ buy here --> http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?pro...9&lsaid=219793

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Kawaii Koinu DS

October 4th, 2006, 17:53 Posted By: wraggster

New commercial DS Game released:



Game Boy Advance's Kawaii Koinu popular game title is now available on Nintendo DS. You can choose from 18 different kind of 2D animated cute puppies that act just like real life dogs. Several modes of play are available, such as contests or missions. Of course, the puppies will recognize your own voice and the game also include touch pen compatibility.

More Info/ buy here --> http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?pro...4&lsaid=219793

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Miyamoto On the Wii: "The Hardware Is Basically A GC."

October 4th, 2006, 18:19 Posted By: wraggster

The dig against the Wii is that it's pretty much a GameCube. With a new controller. But, so what? In a recent interview, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto confirms that:

The hardware is basically a GC. We've upgraded our development tools to new versions but, you can still use GC programs as they are. With that in mind, I thought we could remake GC titles for the Wii and modify them to work with the Wii remote so that they're more fun to play.
Not only that, Miyamoto thinks Wii-makes won't command full price as its easy to find the original GameCube titles second hand. Though, fret not, Miyamoto notes that the Wii does have better graphic capabilities than the GameCube, and there will be eye candy games for the Wii. So, it's the GameCube, but better. What's wrong with that?

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The Wii Blue Light, Explained

October 4th, 2006, 18:20 Posted By: wraggster

What is up with that glowing blue Wii light, Nintendo? It's on, it's off. Sometimes we see it, sometimes we don't. Take the recent Fusion Tour, where it was turned off. What. Is. Up.

Go Nintendo took matters in its own hands and pinned down a local Nintendo rep and squeezed out the following info out: The final retail Wii will have the blue light, but not constantly during play. Instead, it will glow when the console is fired up, so players in pitch black rooms will be able to insert game discs. There will only be a green light on during play.

Furthermore, the rep did not know if there was an option which would allow players to keep the blue light on 24-7. As far as the rep was aware, there was no such choice. Bad news for gamers who like to look at their consoles during play.

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Game Card Armor Case for DS Lite

October 4th, 2006, 18:23 Posted By: wraggster

New from SuccessHK



Product Features of Nintendo DS Game Card Armor Case for DS Lite

Fashionable Color
Super Guard Function
12pcs package

What's inside the box of Nintendo DS Game Card Armor Case for DS Lite

Game Card Armor Case (x12)

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Mage Knight - Destiny's Soldier

October 4th, 2006, 18:24 Posted By: wraggster

New from SuccessHK



Based on the best-selling collectable miniature game from WizKids Games, Mage Knight: Destiny's Soldier offers intuitive touch screen controls and gameplay true to the popular tabletop gaming franchise. In a world ravaged by war, a retired soldier is forced to take up arms once again. The Solonavi are corrupting the Land, and a great army of warriors must be gathered to stop them. It is this soldier’s destiny to bring these warring factions together and fight against the Solonavi. His army is the Land’s only hope to prevent its total devastation. Players assume the role of Destiny’s Soldier, creating and commanding an army of their own to defeat the Solonavi and bring peace back to the Land. With the use of the touch screen controls on the Nintendo DS, players can virtually pick up units, deploy them, issue commands and roll dice just like they would in the tabletop game.

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Gekko WIP Screenshot

October 4th, 2006, 18:36 Posted By: wraggster

A screenshot of the Gamecube Emu for Windows called Gekko has been revealed at Ngemu

Check out the screen Via Comments, no other info was posted:

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Wii Makes Another Wish List

October 5th, 2006, 00:30 Posted By: wraggster

First the Wii managed to finagle its way onto Toys R Us' questionable Hot list for the holidays, and now Nintendo's console is on Toy Wishes magazine's Hot Dozen list.

While the list is sort of all over the place, the reasoning for including the Wii by the mag's editor-in-chief is rock solid.

"The toy industry is in transition from what we consider toys to family entertainment, and this falls under that category," Silver said of the Wii.
No other consoles or portables make an appearance on the list, which is detailed after the jump. Hmmm, maybe Nintendo's strategy is working afterall.

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Rumor: Gamestop Wii Kiosk To Require Credit Card?

October 5th, 2006, 00:33 Posted By: wraggster

We got an interesting insider email (via the notoriously reliable third-party source of an anonymous friend of an also anonymous manager) of what went down at the recent Gamestop manager's conference. The details spilled, while all firmly in the rumor file, are pretty interesting as an inside glimpse into how the nation's biggest game store is reacting to next gen. Namely: the Wii kiosk will require a credit card to use in store, Zune won't be doing gaming in the near future and Gamestop hates Sony.

First of all, according to our insider, the managers were told that only GameStop would be receiving the Wii demo units. He said the reason for that was because GameStop is going to require customers to give over a credit card as collateral in order to play one of the Wii units. Nintendo apparently tried using various security methods for the Wiimote, but couldn't really find one that didn't hamper the experience." I'm not sure why they're not using the wired Wiimotes we all saw at E3 and GC06, but okay.

Another tipster emailed us to tell us that Gamestop was getting the only Wii kiosks as a thank you for selling the most Nintendo consoles, for what it's worth.

Microsoft also said at the conference there were no plans to do anything for Zune in regards to gaming, but that it might lie in wait in the future. This apparently explains why Gamestop will sell the Zune: "GameStop is just trying to get cozy with Microsoft, and selling the Zune is an easy way to do that."

Finally, which consoles are Gamestop's managers most excited about? According to our tipster, Nintendo and Microsoft both garnered standing ovations. However, everyone sat still and tight-lipped when Sony took the stage. To be fair to Sony, though, this largely seems to be an issue of them failing to buy off the managers: "They pretty much half-assed the conference, not really having anything playable and only giving the attendees a couple aging Greatest Hits games (Shadow of the Collosus? Really?). Microsoft, on the other hand, brought Gears of War for people to play and also told the managers that they'd be sending them the Gears Collector's Edition and Viva Pinata when they came out. Nintendo came with playable Wii units and told the attendees they'd be sending them 3 good upcoming DS games, the Wii Classic Controller, and 7500 Wii points. This obviously isn't anything big, but seems to be another example of Sony seemingly not really caring about anything other than Blu-Ray and silly rhetoric."

Yeah, more bribery, Sony! Anyway, we've asked Nintendo for a response, but they are still "looking into it."

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Sega makes an e-Reader for the DS

October 5th, 2006, 01:11 Posted By: wraggster

The Oshare Majo Love and Berry (Love and Berry Dress up and Dance in the USA) has been Sega’s attempt to make an electronic card game for girls. Similar to MushiKing, a beetle battling game designed for boys, you get cards by playing an arcade machine. These cards can be used dress up your character with outfits and new hairstyles. For Oshare Majo Love and Berry DS, Sega is bundling in a card reader that plugs into the DS’ GBA slot so the same cards can be used in the DS game. It seems likely that Sega will release DS versions of MushiKing and Dino King in the future with a redesigned card reader.

Screenshot Via Comments
source

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The story of Yoshi’s Island DS

October 5th, 2006, 01:14 Posted By: wraggster

Baby Mario isn’t alone in Yoshi’s Island DS, he’s joined by Baby DK, Wario, and Peach. Each baby gives Yoshi different powers when Mario is on his back Yoshi gets extra speed, Peach gives him the ability to fly and DK gives Yoshi extra strength. Yoshi has all of his trademark egg-throwing, ground pounding, flutter jumping and vehicle morphing movies from previous games in the series. Similar to Yoshi’s Touch and Go action takes place on both screens. See the screenshot of the Shy Guy on stilts? The only way to hit him is nail him with eggs from below.

So why is Yoshi going on an adventure? When all of the babies are hanging out on Yoshi’s Island Kamek attempts to snatch them away. Baby Mario, Peach, DK and Wario escape, but Baby Luigi gets nabbed by Kamek. Yoshi and all of the babies jump to rescue him. Poor Luigi he’s always getting in trouble.

Screens Via Comments
via siliconera

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Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 2 Preview

October 5th, 2006, 01:19 Posted By: wraggster

Heres an excerpt:

Last year, Bandai localized Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop and released it to the US shores after it did absolute gangbusters in the Japanese market. Though they certainly love those virtual pets in Japan more than they do in this neck of the woods, Tamagotchi Connection did pretty darn well stateside, so much so that the company is currently working on bringing its sequel to the Nintendo DS this Christmas. Namco Bandai sent over an early version of the product so we can see where these critters are going for Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 2.

Anyone who is familiar with the original game will find themselves right at home in Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 2. The look, sound, and gameplay feel of the original has been extended by development team Dimps to incorporate different mini-game challenges without straying from the original Nana-on-sha design. Where the previous game revolved around your chosen Tamagotchi partner's run-in with his father to build up all the shops, in this one, you're performing tasks to impress the Princess, who will in turn upgrade the shop you're working in...if you manage to flatter her with your service, of course.

Full article

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Yoshi's Island DS Charactar Art

October 5th, 2006, 17:19 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo has released some charactar art for the Upcoming Yoshis Island for DS

Screens Via Comments

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Yoshi's Island DS Press Release

October 5th, 2006, 17:21 Posted By: wraggster

Press release from Nintendo:

Super Mario World® 2: Yoshi's Island™ for the SNES® was revered as one of the greatest side-scrolling platformers ever made. The lighthearted art style and compelling game play defined a genre. Now, return to the colorful wilds of Yoshi's Island in a new platforming adventure for the Nintendo DS. Kamek has captured Baby Luigi, and now Yoshi™ and his band of babies must rescue him.

This time, Baby Mario™, Baby DK™, Baby Wario™ and Baby Peach are along for the ride. Each one gives Yoshi access to unique powers: While they cling to his back, Baby Mario gives Yoshi speed, Baby DK gives him strength, Baby Peach gives him the ability to fly and Baby Wario gives him magnetism.
All of Yoshi's classic abilities are on full display. Players gobble enemies and either spit them out immediately, or turn them into eggs that they can throw at items and enemies. Pound the ground to flatten whatever's underneath, and flutter jump to traverse precarious heights. In certain areas, Yoshi can even morph into special vehicles.
Thanks to the power of the Nintendo DS, all of the lush vistas and perilous paths of Yoshi's Island span two screens. Players hit objects on the top screen while using the touch screen, and tackle super-tall enemies that fill both screens.
Hidden in every level are flowers, stars, red coins and character coins, so even after players finish the game, the challenge continues.

Game storyline: A mysterious floating castle has suddenly appeared over peaceful Yoshi's Island. Soon after its arrival, kids begin to disappear. Baby Mario, Baby Peach, Baby Wario and Baby DK manage to avoid being kidnapped, but Baby Luigi isn't so lucky. Now Yoshi and the four young superstars and must set out on a wild and colorful quest to rescue the kids and investigate the ominous castle hovering overhead.

Characters: Yoshi, Baby Mario, Baby Peach, Baby DK, Baby Wario, Baby Luigi, Bowser, Kamek.

How to progress through the game: Players run, glide, climb and fight your way through five levels as Yoshi, gobbling up enemies as they go. As they play through different levels, different babies will join the party. Depending on the baby on his back, Yoshi can adopt different abilities. The main game play comes from using different babies' abilities to defeat foes and advance past obstacles. Each level is also stuffed with hidden items like stars, red coins and character coins, which give players bonuses when they collect them.

Special powers/weapons/moves/features: Yoshi returns with all the abilities we know and love: He can swallow enemies, turn them into eggs, throw eggs and flutter jump. However, depending on the baby he's carrying, he also adopts new abilities. Baby Mario gives Yoshi the power of speed, while Baby DK gives him strength and the ability to climb vines. Baby Peach lets Yoshi float, and Baby Wario's giant magnet grabs metal items like coins.

Boxart via Comments

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Ironstone Partners Signs Exclusive License To Bring The Top Trumps Brand To The Video

October 5th, 2006, 17:24 Posted By: wraggster

Another press release:

Ironstone Partners and Winning Moves today announced a new licensing deal which grants exclusive Worldwide Video Game Rights to enable Ironstone to bring the highly successful Top Trumps brand to the video gaming market.

Top Trumps is a card-based game which gained popularity in the 1970 and 80’s and combines luck, strategy and subject knowledge in a game-concept that has hooked children for several generations. Packs start from £2.98 retail and sales in the UK hit £10 Million each year. The brand has enjoyed many years of success with its strong licensing programme which includes brands such as Marvel, Star Wars, Harry Potter and recently, Doctor Who.

Ironstone will develop games for the Sony’s PlayStation®2 (PS2), Nintendo DS™ and PC gaming platforms and will also work with Winning Moves to create proprietary Top Trumps characters.

“We are tremendously excited to be working with a brand with such fantastic heritage as Top Trumps”, commented Ironstone’s Managing Director, Paul Gouge, “our track record working with high-value concepts in the gaming space and our award winning studio Rockpool Games, will ensure a great success for Winning moves”.

Winning Moves, Head of Interactive, James Rankin added, “We’re delighted with how quickly Ironstone have understood our brand values and implemented them in such high quality products. We’re looking-forward to a long and successful relationship bringing many more video gaming products to market”.

For more information see: www.peppermintm.co.uk

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DSL Sound System

October 5th, 2006, 17:28 Posted By: wraggster

Pinpoint have released a screenshot of their sound system for the DS Lite.

Screen Via Comments

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Codemasters fires Wii Heatseeker

October 5th, 2006, 17:38 Posted By: wraggster

Codemasters has announced Heatseeker, an aerial combat game firing afterburners on Wii, PSP and PS2 in early 2007.

Strapping you into the cockpit of modern-day and near-future fighter jets, the title's very much an arcade experience with the publisher promising plenty of explosive destruction.

"If you like fast and furious action, and blowing everything in sight to bits, then Heatseeker is a dream come true. Expect the greatest military aircraft armed to the teeth with the latest hardware, big explosions, great smoke trails, and gung-ho heroics", enthused Heatseeker's senior producer Andrew Wensley.

Apparently, when wannabe fighter aces - you - takes to the skies, they'll face off against "a seemingly-impossible amount of airborne enemies" and be trying to prove aerial combat skills cut the mustard as they combat in the US, the Caribbean, across Antarctica and into the Far East.

Plus, beans have been spilled on the game's Impact Cam, which allows players to follow loosed missiles 'home' and observe the results of a strike from numerous angles.

Codemasters is developing Heatseeker in collaboration with IR Gurus, which brought us air combat game Heroes of the Pacific.

Speaking about the game, Ben Palmer, exec producer at Gurus, said, "The Heroes air combat engine is being advanced and getting armed to the teeth with the latest military hardware. It's set in a realistic now-time world, that's cohesive and believable, but the speed of play will feel like lightening".

Screens Here

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Entering the Twilight Princess zone

October 5th, 2006, 17:46 Posted By: wraggster

Via CVG

Never before has a moment so clearly sorted the normal, average men from the frothing fanboys; jumping around like a stupid idiot, I made my allegiance clear as I acted like a hooting American and threw my proverbial knickers in the air when we got a personal invite to Nintendo's UK headquarters to play Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

The version we played this week was not all that different from the E3 build, except for one crucial tweak; updated Wii controls allowing us to swing Link's sword with a flick of the controller and risk accidentally twatting colleagues when the controller-strap wasn't on.

There's no discussion that Wii Twilight Princess is the Gamecube game with an additional wand-waving control scheme, but the question is; is it worth the effort and price of a shiny new Wii? From my hour-long bash I certainly found sword-combat much more enjoyable with the Wii controller; flicking my wrist and slashing with the remote seemed like a far more natural an intuitive method of control than simply punching buttons.

The Z button locks on to foes as normal, while a shake of the Nunchuk expansion performs a devastating spin attack, which certainly felt nice. There's also new finishing moves chucked into the mix which, when executed on a downed-enemy with the A button, send Link into a lunging-stab attack which usually finishes off what's left of your aggressor. Nintendo has previously demonstrated this same move being executed by performing a downwards stabbing motion with the controller, but we're not yet certain which method will make it to the final game.

The crown of Zelda's new Wii tricks however, are the excellent ranged aiming-controls, which allow you to use the Bow and Hookshot as precisely as you like in a lightgun-esque shooting set-up. Ranged controls feel very natural and lend themselves to the Wii controller incredibly well, with a simple point-and-click set-up using an on-screen cursor to mark out your target. Literally from the very moment I lifted the pad, I was sniping enemy-archers from a mile-away and making short work of anyone foolish enough to approach my new toy. It's undeniably more accurate and more enjoyable than vanilla pad controls, and making the sound of an arrow travel from the remote speaker to the television is perhaps the most satisfying thing I've done this week (sadly).

But beyond the control scheme, we know that Twilight Princes is going to be fantastic; Nintendo has touted it as the 'best Zelda game ever', which is no modest promise when half of the series backlog is already hailed as some of the greatest games of all-time. The dungeon I played through was the same fire-based local seen at E3; starting with a small dock area full of archers, crates and a giant crane to exploit the new tricks of my special metal boots.

Perhaps it's the voice of ignorance speaking, but the camera appeared troublesome when navigating tight spots and ladders, though the inclusion of a quick motion-powered first-person view was certainly welcome. Our on-screen pal, Navi helps keep track of where you're pointing, which was useful when in other games I spent most of my time pointing the pad at the ceiling.

The properties of my fancy footwear - presumably the prize of the dungeon - were exploited further in the demo when in true Zelda style I dramatically discovered a giant, flaming dungeon boss - who we're guessing had some kind of sacred stone or crystal lodged into his face.

With the Zelda franchise now in its 15th entry, it can't be easy to come up with new boss concepts, but the bods behind Twilight Princess have come up with an excellent method of dispatch for this baddy. The flaming nasty lashes at Link with two massive chains attached to his ankles, occasionally stopping to perform the odd fire-blasting attack.

(Warning: spoilers ahead) To clobber him, you've got to niftily land an arrow shot in the shiny jewel in his forehead - something we're sure will be far more troublesome without the Wii's excellent light-gun-esque aiming - and then use your new boots somehow to send him flat on his face.

It has to be said; even though the Wii is severely lacking in the horsepower department compared to its rivals, this boss battle is as dazzling and intense as anything higher-abled consoles have offered us so far.

Slowing things down a bit, an equally important part of our Zelda hands-on was the fishing demo, which gave us our first sample of the new hook, line and sinker motion controls which no-doubt have fans of previous series' fishing games very excited. Unlike previous instalments, Twilight' puts you on the open lake in a rugged fishing boat, where you can paddle around freely scouting out the best spots for catching top trout.

This in itself opens up a lot more possibilities than before; after spending so much time casting out in Ocarina of Time's tiny pond, our social lives have little hope of recovering from Twilight Princess's massive lake, which features waterfalls, shorelines and alcoves where different kinds of fish congregate and lie (or er, swim). After unsuccessfully luring flounders in the centre of the lake, my fishing partner - a rather attractive young lady - recommended I cast out by the waterfall, where loe-and-behold I managed to snatch not one, but two bites. If Wii fishing turns out anything like Ocarina of Time's, then we'd also expect fish to deviate depending on the time of day - and perhaps now with Wii's fancy internet-clock features; time of year as well.

Holding the A button and then casting out with a swing, the Wii controller's on-board speaker is really noticeable at this point, winding and clicking with the movement of your line. In fact, if I had my eyes closed - and perhaps had one or two beers in me - I could've fooled myself into thinking I was sitting inside a whet, dinky fishing boating waiting for the Hyrullian Loach to splash his way towards my line.

The whole activity feels a lot more hands-on than in previous games; tugging and waving at the Wii controller gives your lure a realistic nudge - again, giving the illusion that the Wii pad is in fact attached via-string to a hooked-worm in your telly. After a ceremonial wait a fishy bites and the struggle begins; reeling in your catch is a multi-task of motions, using the Nunchuk to wind and the controller to pull - just as if you had a big fishing rod controller nestled between your mitts.

The mix of rumble, on-board controller noises and tugging gestures gives the illusion that you are in fact tugging against some kind of opposing force (even though you're obviously not), and makes landing your catch all the more satisfying. Sure, it's only a 63cm catfish, but after that effort I'd gladly serve it up with some chips and a nice bit of parsley if it weren't but a bunch of triangles and dots on-screen.

And that about wraps up our brief hands on with Nintendo's latest adventure epic. The Japanese giant has promised the best Zelda game yet, and after years of development and delays, and promising hands-on sessions like this one, we're quietly confident that maybe - just maybe - it can deliver on that promise. Stay tuned for more Zelda as Wii's launch date of December 8 approaches.

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The Console of Mass Destruction

October 5th, 2006, 17:58 Posted By: wraggster

Heres an excerpt of a long and thought provoking article:

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First Japanese Wii Box Art?

October 5th, 2006, 18:01 Posted By: wraggster

We've seen the North American, but where's the Japanese Wii box art? A-squint-and-you'll-miss-it Super Monkey Ball image popped up on Sega's site, and *surprise*, it's all pink and written in Japanese. Granted the Japanese title is different and various box art for games is not really news, but I'm actually a little surprised. I guess all the other early Wii games might have different art, save for Cars, which will look EXACTLY the same.

Boxart Via Comments

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Pokemon: The Concert

October 5th, 2006, 18:02 Posted By: wraggster

How do celebrate ten years of Pokemon? With an orchestra, that's now. Club Nintendo sends word of a classic concert that features wall-to-wall Pokemon tunes. The event strikes up a tune in Tokyo at the MIELPARQUE on October 28th, at Well City in Kitakyushu City on November 5th, the Hyogo Performing Arts Center in Nishinomiya on November 12th and the Well City in Sapporo on December 10th.

More info

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Wii production exceeding expectations

October 5th, 2006, 18:05 Posted By: wraggster

Briefing.com reports (subscription only) that, according to UBS, 2 million Wii consoles were completed in Q3 (July-September) to support Nintendo's upcoming Q406 global console launch, beginning November 19th in North America. In addition, "at least 7 mln and potentially as high as 9 mln more units are in the build plan for 4Q06." The report continues, "this production ramp handily exeeds [sic] a publicly announced tgt for 6 mln units to ship by yearend"; however, Nintendo had previously announced plans to ship 6 million units by the end of their fiscal year (ending March 31, 2007) and only 4 million by the end of the calendar year. The language appears to indicate the possibility of building, if not shipping, as many as 11 million Wii consoles by the end of the calendar year!

With production exceeding expectations, why release the console so much later than many anticipated, and right on top of the PlayStation 3's November 17th launch? It all comes down to software. While Nintendo may have warehouses full of Wiis, they need a launch lineup and reliable system software to go along with all that stockpiled hardware. But Zelda has to be done ... we would have been happy with just that, promise.

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Undercover coming to the Nintendo DS - ANACONDA announces Undercover: Dual Motives

October 5th, 2006, 18:32 Posted By: wraggster

Just released in German-language territories, adventure game Undercover: Operation Wintersun, an exciting hunt for a Nazi nuclear bomb in the Second World War, will get a prequel on the Nintendo DS: publisher ANACONDA is announcing Undercover: Dual Motives, where players take control of physicist and reluctant spy Dr. John Russell in his early days, investigating at a British research facility.

Austrian developer Sproing is already hard at work on the handheld adventure game. Undercover: Dual Motives features both classic adventure gaming elements for on-the-go, as well as using the unique capabilities of the DS to implement novel ideas.

In addition to John Russell, players have access to a second playable character in Audrey, the secretary of the facility’s director. Both screens of the DS are used, when Russell and Audrey investigate. Working separately, the player is in control of one of them at a time, directing them via the touchscreen and stylus. The other screen displays the currently inactive character, which he can switch over to at any time. The challenge: cleverly using the individual abilities of the two different characters in order to solve the game’s logical puzzles – even if they are in different rooms.

“This opens up a lot of new possibilities for puzzle design in adventure games, which will make Undercover: Dual Motives a very special gaming experience not only for genre fans”, explains Harald Riegler, Creative Director at developer Sproing. “Of course, we are aware that Undercover: Dual Motives is one of very few adventure games on the Nintendo DS. We want to use this platform to apply the unique capabilities of the DS to the game and the genre, but we also want to win new types of players for the Undercover franchise and the adventure gaming genre”, adds ANACONDA PR Manager Claas Wolter.

Undercover: Dual Motives will be released worldwide by ANACONDA, starting with German-language territories at the end of March 2007.

Screenshots Via Comments

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Another Happy DS Month in Japan

October 5th, 2006, 18:50 Posted By: wraggster

Hardware sales in Japan were up 30 percent in September over last year, fueled by continuing high sales of DS – 660K for the month.
However, the hardware business fell by 2.3 percent (14.5 billion yen) compared to August. On the software side, a total of 730K copies were sold during September, with 500K copies of DS games, 108K for PSP and 106K for PS2. The software business was up by 25.7 percent (17.1 billion yen) compared to last month and by 17.4 percent compared to last year.

With 230K copies sold in September, New Super Mario Brothers on DS was the dominant product and has now reached the three million mark - the third DS title to do so.

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NEO2-SD/TF Menu v1.0 BETA 7A release

October 5th, 2006, 19:10 Posted By: wraggster

DrNeo posted this news:

NEO2-SD/TF Menu v1.0 BETA 7A release

Update:
* Fixed some bug
* Make more nds game workable

How to upgrade :
[1] unzip the menu file to your HD
[2] drag and drop it to your SD/TF card
[3] turn on your NDS
[4] choose the menu file what you want
[5] press "A" to upgrade
[6] after the upgrade,you can see the build time was changed at the top of menu.
[7] now you can enjoy the new menu already.

download : http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index....ic,3294.0.html

Ill be posting my review and thoughts on the new Neo2SD flashcard maybe tonight if i get time

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Fish Tank DS

October 5th, 2006, 19:13 Posted By: wraggster

Campanile posted this news:

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Sims 2 Pets brings Hilary Duff home

October 5th, 2006, 23:55 Posted By: wraggster

Via Gamestop

The Sims 2 Pets has really been packing in the star power. So far, the game is getting musical contributions from teen pop duo AJ & Aly, sexed-up girl group Pussycat Dolls, alterna-rockers The Flaming Lips, nerdcore group Hot Chip, and others.

Now the game is moving beyond just the audio stylings of well-known musical artists. Electronic Arts today announced that actress-turned-pop-singer Hilary Duff will be featured as a playable character in The Sims 2 Pets. In keeping with the theme of the game, Duff's real-life Chihuahua, Lola, will also be included in the Pets.

Duff and Lola will "appear in different scenes on each of the [game's] platforms" and will be fully interactive. Players will be able to dress up Duff and maker her do their bidding, or have their own created Sims characters mingle with her.

The Sims 2 Pets will be released on the PC, PlayStation 2, GameCube, and DS on October 17. PSP and Game Boy Advance versions will ship later this year.

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SNEmulDS - GBFS version by AlekMaul

October 6th, 2006, 00:17 Posted By: wraggster

Archeide posted this news:

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54 Rampage Wii shots

October 6th, 2006, 16:57 Posted By: wraggster

Retaining the core principle of the original arcade classic, you'll control giant chimps and Godzilla-like creations as they stomp on cities and buildings.

We remember Rampage being most fun in multiplayer, and Total Destruction will boast a four-player mode that allows gamers to either co-operate or battle in seven urban environments.

It's not the most anticipated game coming to Wii, but it'll be a laugh with four players all going for it. These new screens show some huge bosses in action too.

At the time of writing, Midway was unavailable to comment on how the game will take advantage of Wii's unique controller, and a release date is yet to be confirmed. We'll shout at them every day until they give us the info.

Shots Via Comments

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Midway eyes Wii launch

October 6th, 2006, 16:59 Posted By: wraggster

Midway has told CVG that it hopes to have The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, a battle adventure game based on the Cartoon Network series, ready for Wii on day one in the UK. A Midway spokesperson said: "We're aiming for a launch release in the PAL territories and it is being developed by Midway internally."

The development team is "currently testing the usage of all of the Wii functionality", but the company wouldn't disclose further specifics.

The single player adventure will boast 40 missions of cartoony fightsn, and a Battle mode will let four players go head-to-head in a selection of deathmatch arenas.

Screenshots Here

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Wario Ware: Smooth Moves

October 6th, 2006, 17:00 Posted By: wraggster

The Wario Ware series has always been nuts, with its nonsensical three-second mini-games coming at you one after the other. But with full-body motion of the Wii version, Smooth Moves is totally berserk.

Making full use of the Wii's motion-detecting Remote (no Nunchuk needed), Wario Ware: Smooth Moves has you performing all sorts of wacky movements to complete its rapid mini-games.

The cool thing is the Wii Remote is held differently with each game, and just before the mini-games appear, you're briefly shown a picture of how the controller should be held. Then you have a couple of seconds to get it ready.

It's mental. One second you'll be holding the Remote like a cup, and tipping it towards you to make the on-screen man drink a glass of water (do it to fast and the water spills everywhere). Then you have to quickly change to holding it horizontally with both hands like a pole, and tilt it left and right to help a clown keep his balance on a giant ball. Then you're holding it like a dumbbell, and pumping your bicep to make the on-screen weightlifter do the same.

Our favourite mini-games are the ones based on previous Nintendo games. An Animal Crossing game saw us yank the remote back to whip a fish out of a river. A Super Mario Bros. game lets you flick the remote upwards to make Mario jump to hit a coin block. And you'll be reaching towards your TV to grab a dog's paw in a Nintendogs mini-game.

But Smooth Moves doesn't settle at you just moving your hands and arms. Sometimes it'll ask you to hold the Remote against a particular part of your body. So you'll be holding it at your waist, and twirling your hip to spin a hoola-hoop around the waist of your virtual counterpart.

Or, you'll be asked to place the controller on your head and do squats to make a crazy body-builder pump his legs. Of course, since the Wii can only detect the position of the controller and not the rest of your body, you can cheat by imitating these motions with more effortless arm movements, but you're girlfriend and your granny won't know that. Let them live the dream.

If you play by the rules, Wario Ware is as bonkers as it is tiring, but that's what makes it as fun as the Dancing Stage games that have dominating arcades for years.

Wario Ware: Smooth Moves is a confirmed launch title in Japan, but is not yet on the list for day one in the UK.

We're hoping it'll appear in time for Christmas. Forget singing carols and popping crackers. We're all about Wario Ware after a fat lunch.

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FIFA 07 Released

October 6th, 2006, 19:46 Posted By: wraggster

The premier Soccer game sees a new release:



FIFA 07 delivers complete authenticity with licenses for all the world's top leagues, including MLS and Mexican 1st Division in North America, and 26 others from over 20 nations. This year, you have the power to shape your club's destiny in the EA Sports Interactive Leagues, a new online mode that enables you to pit your club against supporters of your real-world opponents. The online interactive leagues feature the F.A. Premier League, Bundesliga, French League and the Mexican 1st Division.

Buy here --> http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?pro...9&lsaid=219793

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Ubi Says Wii Will Beat EA

October 6th, 2006, 19:49 Posted By: wraggster

Next Generation is reporting on comments from Ubisoft, indicating that they are heavily relying on the Wii to fend off advances from business adversary Electronic Arts. From the article:
"Ubisoft vowed to stay independent [after EA made inroads to a buyout], and it plans to keep it that way. 'Our goal is not to sell to EA but to beat EA,' said Laurent Detoc , president of Ubisoft North America in a Reuters interview this week. He hopes that an early adoption of the Wii platform will help push Ubisoft up from the fifth largest independent publisher in North America to the fourth. Worldwide, the company is ranked fourth, although that excludes Japan."

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Evil Mario Grimly Surveys Dystopia

October 6th, 2006, 19:56 Posted By: wraggster

A dystopian Mario surveys his savage mushroom kingdom, resting the hand of a conqueror upon the pink hotpants of his waspy, Fran-Dreischer like bride. It's Evil Mario, a painting by Norante, who really ought to do more video game themed work.

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Japanese Developers Take Next Gen Survey

October 6th, 2006, 20:08 Posted By: wraggster

Wondering what the Japanese development community thinks about the next generation of gaming? The latest issue of Japan's Weekly Famitsu provides a few clues.



The magazine conducted a survey with 58 developers at 19 Japanese game companies. Included in the mix were directors, programmers and designers -- the people who are making the games, rather than the people making the business decisions.

First up, a question on how much the developers expect out of the next generation systems. For the PS3, 48% said that they have extremely high expectations for the system, with 32% having just high expectations. 18% said that they don't expect much of the system at all.

The Xbox 360 got a poorer rating, with 45% saying they're not expecting much of it at all, 40% having high expectations and 13% having extremely high expectations.

And then, we come to the Wii, which seems to have the favor of the entire Japanese development community. 36% have high expectations for the system, with 63% claiming extremely high expectations. Only 1% of responders said that they weren't expecting all that much from Nintendo's new system.

Moving on to games, of the PS3's lineup, most developers were excited by Metal Gear Solid 4 (12 votes). This was followed by Final Fantasy XIII (10 votes), The Eye of Judgment (7 votes), Afrika (6 votes) and Heavenly Sword (4 votes). Other games mentioned include Bladestorm, Gran Turismo HD, Lair and Resistance.

Not surprisingly, Blue Dragon took the top spot for Xbox 360, with 18 votes. This was followed by Lost Odyssey (14 votes), Culdecept Saga (8 votes), Dead Rising (4 votes) and Gundam Operation Troy (4 votes). Other games mentioned include Lost Planet, Gear of War, Riot Act and Idol Master.

For Wii, Zelda was the overwhelming winner, with 26 votes, followed by Super Mario Galaxy (8 votes), Wii Sports (5 votes), Animal Crossing (3 votes) and Smash Brothers X (3 votes). Other games mentioned include Wario Ware, Fire Emblem, Sonic and Elebits.

The survey takers were also asked to name their favorite parts of each system. Visual power took the top spot on PS3 with 19 votes, followed by overall hardware specs (10 votes), Cell's computation abilities (9 votes), the built-in hard disk (3 votes) and the use of Blu-Ray (3 votes). Some developers also mentioned PSP connectivity, online functionality, the 6-axis control system and even the brand power associated with PlayStation and Blu-Ray.

For Xbox 360, Xbox Live was mentioned the most, getting 18 votes. This was followed by the system's ease of development (13 votes), connectivity with Windows Vista (12 votes), visual power (6 votes) and overall hardware balance (4 votes). Developers also mentioned the system's demo download service, ranking system and strength of sales in the North American market.

Nintendo's unique controller was mentioned most for the Wii, taking 34 votes. It was followed by Wii Connect 24 (9 votes), the Virtual Console (6 votes), ease of development (4 votes) and the console price (3 votes). Other developers mentioned the hardware size, the concept of moving your body, and the focus on light users.

Finally, Famitsu put all three systems against one another. In the category of system sales, 60% of those surveyed expect Wii to come out on top. PS3 took 37% of the vote compared to Xbox 360's 3%. The PS3's price point was cited as reason for the low expectations.

Most developers want to try out Wii development. 63% selected Wii as the system they most want to develop for, compared to the PS3's 32% and the Xbox 360's 5%.

Wii also won out in the category of which system the developers want the most, personally. 49% selected the Nintendo hardware. PS3 was chosen by 42%, with Xbox 360 coming in last at 9%.

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European Nintendo Wii Packaging

October 6th, 2006, 20:12 Posted By: wraggster

Check out what the Wii box for Europe will look like via the comments.

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Comic Book DS v1.0 released

October 6th, 2006, 20:49 Posted By: wraggster

Paco_777 has released Comic Book DS PC Converter so now you can create your own Comics for DS:

Comic Book DS is a program making it possible to read your Comic Books on your Nintendo DS.
It can be also used as a photo viewer.
It is composed of two parts:
The PC part, PictoDS, developped by Nicom00k, converts your pictures into a .nds file (those pictures can be in a folder, a .zip, a .cbz, a .cbr, a .rar)
The DS part (the generated .nds file) allows to display the different pictures in a fast, pleasant and intuitive way (well, I hope ).

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DSLite Brightness: Found the missing bit!

October 6th, 2006, 20:51 Posted By: wraggster

Lick posted this on his site:

I found the bit in the UserSettings that stores the Nintendo DS Lite boot-up brightnesslevel. By reading/writing to this address, we can make the Lite boot-up with the desired brightnesslevel. Unless I’m slow, this hasn’t been done before.

Anyway, the bits are at the Language and Flags variable in the UserSettings. Bit 4 and Bit 5 will have to value of 0-3 (2 bits) indicating which brightnesslevel is stored.
(For read-only, libnds provides PersonalData->RESERVED3.)

- Lick

More info --> http://licklick.wordpress.com/2006/1...e-missing-bit/

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Falldown!

October 6th, 2006, 20:54 Posted By: wraggster

BassAceGold posted this news/release:

Hello! I have made simple game. In this game you control the yellow square and try to avoid touching the top of the screen as you fall through the maze and get a high score. Currently the graphics suck and may be harmful to your eyes so please be cautious when first starting up

Brace yourself for the ugliness!

Screenshot and Download Via Comments

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WiFi VoiceChatClient 1.4

October 6th, 2006, 21:01 Posted By: wraggster

Moonlight has released a new version of his Wifi voice chat software for the Nintendo DS, heres whats new:

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Final Fantasy V and VI trailer

October 6th, 2006, 21:03 Posted By: wraggster

Via DSfanboy

The Final Fantasy, much to our enjoyment, never ends. What started as a final attempt became an RPG icon. Final Fantasy has dominated for nearly 20 years now as new installments are released. Square Enix, in their attempts to reach every gamer possible, has made plans to re-release older titles on the GameBoy Advance.

They have already released Final Fantasy I/II Dawn of Souls and Final Fantasy IV. Carrying on with the tradition, Final Fantasy V and VI are making their way into our homes.

Trailer

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Tetattds v1.2 released

October 6th, 2006, 21:11 Posted By: wraggster

Stonebone posted this news/release:

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[PAlib BETA] Beta 2, small changes...

October 6th, 2006, 21:16 Posted By: wraggster

Mollusk posted this news:

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Scurge: Hive Hands-on

October 6th, 2006, 21:34 Posted By: wraggster

Heres an excerpt

Hey, Orbital Media is back! Who is that? Orbital Media is the development studio that brought us Racing Gears Advance back in early 2005. Now don't bother trying to remember what else they did, since the list of games on the market ends there. Way back at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2005, Orbital wowed us with its action RPG game, Scurge: Hive. Now, over a year after the intended release, gamers will finally get to experience what Orbital has to offer, and we're giving the game another look to refresh everyone's memory.

Meet Jenosa Arma. Like all female bounty hunters, she is as beautiful as she is deadly. Jenosa has got a rather nifty cybernetic suit that not only allows her to kick butt and take names, but it keeps her head uncovered so her giant hair doesn't get messed up. Hey, a girl has her priorities. Don't let Jenosa's stylish do fool you. She's a tough broad, and, with a cybernetic gauntlet that shoots energy beams, she'll fry your ass.

Jenosa, with the help of her android navigator, Magellan, is off to answer a distress call from a research lab on a distant planet. Seems the scientists in the lab were studying a rare and dangerous alien life form known as Scurge. The Scurge have the ability to infect biological, mechanical, and energy based entities. Luckily for Jenosa, her cybernetic suit helps fend off the infectious aliens, but it doesn't stop them completely

Full article

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Hands-on with Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam

October 6th, 2006, 21:35 Posted By: wraggster

Heres an excerpt:

When Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam was announced for Wii, fans didn't really know how to receive it. While the game makes use of Nintendo's innovative Wii controller, it's also a different breed than most Tony Hawk titles, and that sends gunfire of skepticism into the minds hardcore Tony fans. After getting our hands on the game, however, we're finding that while the game is certainly a fresh take on the license, it's also pretty fun, and could be a great answer to a freshman Tony effort using the new Wii controller.

For DS fans, however, the situation is a bit different. With an already amazing rendition of the Tony Hawk series on the system with Tony Hawk's American Sk8land, we expected the team at Vicarious Visions to continue working with its engine, possibly following the Project 8 path towards a more traditional Hawk title. Instead, Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam is now coming to the DS as well, and while the game may be the same style as the Wii version, it's apparent that the solid engine, gameplay, and customization from Sk8land is still playing a huge part in Downhill Jam DS.

At the recent Activison press event in Los Angeles, California, we had a chance to be the first to try out the new online modes in Downhill Jam DS, as well as the unique voice chat function which can be used both locally and over Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection. Before we get into the multiplayer details though, there are definitely a few things to note about the gameplay in Downhill Jam. For starters, the game is based on the Wii version, with a few of the levels directly inspired from the console list. Players can race, slalom, and trick down huge courses inspired from the likes of San Francisco, Edinburgh, Kilimanjaro, Rio, Hong Kong, and Hoover Dam. The levels are surprisingly massive as well, and offer alternate routes and lines to explore.

Full article

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Report: Wii production way ahead

October 7th, 2006, 01:54 Posted By: wraggster

When the Xbox 360 went on sale last November, it was instantly beset with supply problems. Many consumers who preordered the consoles months in advance couldn't obtain a console until the following year. Even then, many early adopters were forced to settle for a hard drive-less "Core" 360 or found their units beset with a higher-than average rate of hardware problems.

The PlayStation 3 looks like it will suffer similar supply issues when it hits US stores next month. After being delayed from its spring debut, the console also saw its initial shipment drastically slashed from 2 million day-one units worldwide to just 500,000--100,000 for Japan's November 11 launch and 400,000 for North America's November 17 launch. Though the PS3 has been delayed in Europe until March 2007, Sony still asserts it will ship 2 to 2.4 million units of the console by 11:59 p.m. on December 31.

By Sony's own account, the primary reason for its PS3 woes is the console's optical disc drive. Sony is experiencing difficulty manufacturing the laser diodes for the drives, which will use Blu-ray Discs. The next-generation video format is squaring off against rival HD-DVD, which is not-so-coincidentally supported by Microsoft.

However, unlike Sony, Microsoft decided not to incorporate a cutting-edge disc format in the Xbox 360, which will get an optional external $199 HD-DVD drive later this year. Nintendo went even one step further. Its Wii console won't even support DVD playback, and its graphical and processing power are roughly only twice that of its current-generation console, the GameCube.

Now, Nintendo's emphasis on simplicity and proven technology is apparently paying off. According to a report from UBS Investment Research, the Kyoto, Japan-based game giant is not only meeting its manufacturing goals, but it is surpassing them.

Citing industry "checks," UBS analysts Alex Gauna and Steven Chin claim that Nintendo already made 2 million Wiis by the end of September. They go on to predict that, "at least 7 million and potentially as high as 9 million more units are in the build plan for Q4 06. This production ramp handily exceeds a publicly announced target for 6 million units to ship by year's end." (Emphasis added.) If 2 million Wiis are already made, that could being the manufacturing total to a whopping 9-11 million units, although they all would not likely ship by year's end. [CORRECTION: GameSpot initially reported overall production of Wiis for 2007 would be 7-9 million. We regret the error.]

Besides being music to Nintendo fans' ears, the report should also hearten shareholders of the Broadcom Corporation, which makes the wireless integrated circuits in the next-gen console. Broadcom supplies "one Wi-Fi and two Bluetooth ICs [Integrated Circuits] into each packaged Wii, with the potential to enjoy additional Bluetooth sales from additional controllers."

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DS browser comes to Europe

October 7th, 2006, 01:59 Posted By: wraggster



The Nintendo DS Browser went on sale across Europe today, letting users access the Internet as well as play games. The browser, which is made by Opera Software, has been available in Japan since July. No US release plans have yet been announced.

The browser is on a DS cartridge, which once attached lets users connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi at any of Nintendo's 6,000 free Wi-Fi Connection hot spots and other public-access hot spots. There are two separate software packages--one for the original DS and one for the DS Lite--because of hardware differences. Each will only work on their specific console.

Any Web page should be viewable on the DS, according to Berit Framnes, public relations officer for Opera Software, who said, "There are no sites that you can't access. However, it does not support Flash, so you will be unable to view Flash animations or videos."

Users can choose from two different viewing modes--the faster is a fit-to-width mode that's similar to Opera's browser for mobile phones. This shows Web pages in a single column across both screens. Alternatively, surfers can choose DS mode, which shows an overview of the page on the lower screen with a magnified image of the selected part of the page displayed on the upper screen.

The browser also makes use of the touch screen by showing a virtual keyboard on the lower screen to make typing in URLs and e-mails faster than text messaging.

"It's so people can access the Web on the go. We see people using this in the library or waiting at the airport. It's a cheaper alternative than a mobile phone because the Nintendo Wi-Fi points are free," Framnes explained.

When asked if there were any plans for a US or Australian version, Framnes said, "Nintendo haven't released that information, but we're just as keen as everyone else for it to happen. I think it's just a matter of getting all the hot spots set up and a partner to provide a proxy filter so parents can block content."

Buy DS Browser (£24.99)

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Female Nintendo Panties

October 7th, 2006, 02:11 Posted By: wraggster

One female Nintendo fan proves how big a fan she is by flashing her pants. Some one has a nice wife

Check the shot out via comments

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Wii Japanese Launch List

October 7th, 2006, 02:13 Posted By: wraggster

Heres the full launch list:

Nintendo Wii's Seventeen Japanese Launch Titles

Trauma Centre NEO (Atlus)
Crayon Shin-Chan: Saikyou Kazoku Kasukabe King Wii (Banpresto)
Elebits (Konami)
Ennichi no Tatsujin (Bandai Namco)
Hajimete no Wii: Your First Step To Wii (Nintendo)
Kororinpa (Hudson)
Machikuru Domino (Success)
Necro-Nesia (Spike)
WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Nintendo)
Red Steel (Ubisoft)
SD Gundam Revolution (Bandai Namco)
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (Sega)
Super Swing Golf Pangya (Tecmo)
Tamagotchi no Pika Pika Daito-ryo-! (Bandai Namco)
Wii Sports (Nintendo)
Wing Island (Hudson)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo)

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42 All-Time Classics

October 7th, 2006, 02:45 Posted By: wraggster

Newly released in the UK:



Product Features

With familiar favorites like checkers, darts and poker, 42 All-Time Classics will appeal to everyone
Players can challenge up to seven friends with one game card via Multi-Card Play or DS Download Play.
42 All-Time Classics is one-stop gaming that will appeal to everyone's tastes
42 All-Time Classics is part of Nintendo's Touch Generations library, which includes uniquely engaging titles that have appeal beyond core gamers.

More Info at Amazon UK

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Official DS Lite Inner Earphone

October 7th, 2006, 02:47 Posted By: wraggster

Newly released in the UK:



More info at Amazon UK

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Flipper Critters

October 7th, 2006, 02:50 Posted By: wraggster

Newly released in the UK:



Product Features

Both display screens in full 3D a first
A feast of missions and objectives that help to advance the story.
A high degree of freedom in deciding what missions to do next and where to travel, making each game a different experience from the last.
A three-dimensional, cartoon-like world.
Villages, mountain tops and even the surface of the moon become pinball tables.
Fast paced arcade action.
Fabulous sound and music.
State-of-the-art ball physics, giving fast and responsive control.
Wi-Fi features include:
2 player multi-play for each mini game, called duel.
Three kinds of mini games linking the pinball tables in Story Mode - as you proceed unlock them.
Each mini game has 4 very different visuals.
Magic Bridge: You race against the other player and first past the line wins.
Gravity: your goal is to make your enemy submarine sink by picking up driller icons.


More info at Amazon UK

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Open Season

October 7th, 2006, 02:53 Posted By: wraggster

Newly released in the UK:



Product Features

Play as Boog and Elliott and relive the movie adventure
Interact with Beth, Shaw, and all your animal favourites from the Open Season film
Features the same cast of voice actors as the movie, including Ashton Kutcher, Martin Lawrence and Billy Connelly
Throw skunk bombs, hurl rabbits, use acorn-firing squirrels, and pull outrageous woodland pranks to scare the pants off the hunters
Roll in a giant snowball, ride the rapids on a floating outhouse, zip through tunnels in a crazy mine cart ride, and take on more madcap adventures as Boog discovers how to go from Mild to Wild
Challenge your friends or team up together in hilarious 4-player mini-games

More info at Amazon UK

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NDS: EZflash IV (deluxe) reviewed

October 7th, 2006, 09:31 Posted By: scorpei

Hi all,



As I recently posted I've released my review of the EZflash IV (deluxe/compact), special thanks to bamboogaming.com.
And although I did not have much time for this review, I hope you all like it.

Click here to view

Cheers,
Scorpei

p.s. IE does not render my new page correctly, so get FireFox or Opera

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Contact for the NDS

October 8th, 2006, 08:37 Posted By: ACID

The klaxon alarm is shrieking! Something is wrong! The Professor wrestles his damaged spaceship to a crash landing on a mysterious planet.
In the aftermath of the crash, The Professor discovers that the power sources of his ship, known as Cells, have been scattered across the surface of this strange world. To retrieve them all, The Professor enlists the aid of a brave young man named Terry — and a brave video game player known as you! The Professor and Terry will ask for your help during the course of the adventure, using the Nintendo DS to "contact" you along the way.

Will The Professor gather the Cells and return to outer space? Will you learn the goal of the mysterious organization that seeks to gather the Cells for itself? The future of an entire world has been placed in your hands!

More info / preorder here --> http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-1agj.html

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The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

October 8th, 2006, 08:52 Posted By: ACID

Nintendo is known for using their brilliantly designed character franchises to help sneak their hardware into people's homes. Games like Mario Kart, Metroid, and Mario 64 DS help move Nintendo DS consoles off the store shelves. Now, The Legend of Zelda is coming to the Nintendo DS too, making a DS specific premier in a game called Phantom Hourglass expected to release later in 2006. But what can we expect from the Hourglass? A 3D adventure made to look like The Wind Waker? A top-down adventure like the excellent GBA titles that have come so far, such as A Link to the Past? Let's take a look at what we know about Zelda: Phantom Hourglass in the days after its announcement.
So when will this Zelda Windwalker look alike come out?
Heres a video from Nintendo.

http://www.nintendo.com/mediaFiles/f...hmLp5Xq3-f.mov

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Wii: 5 must-have launch games

October 8th, 2006, 10:26 Posted By: wraggster

The five Wii launch games that everyone needs to own. Start saving those pennies...

With the launch of the Wii just two months away, hype for the innovative new console is reaching critical levels. Every gamer in their right mind should be putting down some serious cash, ready for the launch - unless, like us, you plan on blowing your November wage on it, then doing without food for a month. Who needs food when there are so many games to buy? But if you can't afford them all, here are the five that you simply must buy...

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
This one's a no-brainer. When a new Zelda game comes out, you buy it, no questions asked. But Twilight Princess is extra special; not only will it be the first Zelda game to launch alongside a Nintendo console, but Shigeru Miyamoto has promised this will be the best Zelda game ever - and we believe him.

We drool over every new screenshot that Nintendo releases. Seeing Link battling against giant armoured guards, with sparks lighting up the detailed textures on both combatants and bright metal shards flying everywhere is a sight to behold. It's the game that puts end to concerns about Wii's graphical capabilities. And we know that everything we've see so far only scratches the surface of what that game has in store. December 8 can't come soon enough.

Red Steel
Ubisoft is backing the Wii in a big way, with seven games confirmed for launch from the publishing giant. And Red Steel looks like the coolest one of them all. Aside from the fact that we love anything that's even slightly Japanese, the game's Tokyo setting and Yakuza theme makes for one massively intriguing plot.

Ubisoft is really trying to make something special out of the functions that the Wii Remote provides. The motion-operated gun controls will set the standard for all future FPS games on Wii. And although the sword-fighting mechanics were met with mixed reactions at E3 06, they have come a long way since then, and have improved massively. Check back next week when CVG will tell you exactly how well this game plays after an extensive hand-on.

Call of Duty 3
The Call of Duty franchise has undoubtedly dominated the WWII FPS genre since its first release on PC in 2003. Three years later, and after the stunning sequel that rocked Xbox 360 and PC, the third game in the series is launching an offensive on Wii.

So, the Wii version won't look as good as the Xbox 360 or PS3 versions. But we do know that Activision is cooking up some awesome control mechanics for the Wii, including thrusting your hand forwards for a melee attack, and motion-detected weapon changing. We're hoping it'll get some awesome motion-activated grenade-throwing action in there. Imagine how cool that would be.


Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
Monkey Ball on Wii looks genius. From the moment we first saw the Wii Remote and learned of its tilt-sensing capabilities, Monkey Ball was the game we dreamed of.

Sega has made our dream a reality. You tilt the remote to tilt the level - it was the obvious application. But it works so well. We predict it'll take some getting used to, and our super-fly Monkey Ball skills might go a bit drunk when we first pick up Banana Blitz, but we will stick with it, conquer it, and show the world what it means to be a Monkey in a ball.

Of course, then there are the minigames, of which Sega is cooking up a whopping 50 in total. That's awesome, by the way. But as long as Monkey Target's in there and as good as it was in the past two games (Monkey Ball Adventure doesn't count), that's all that matters.

Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Okay, so this one might not be available on day one, but it's expected to hit shops soon after December 8. And when it does our Wii Remotes are going to take a battering.

Wario Ware: Smooth Moves can't fail to make for hilarious party sessions. We played it earlier last week (read the full hands-on report right here) and we had a blast of a time - and the demo was only for a single player. But the real fun will start when the final game lands with all of its crazy minigames, and full four-player compatibility.

Do you remember those over-excited Japanese girls in the original Wii controller trailer that jumped around ridiculously while playing Wario Ware? That'll be us. Loving it.

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Wii retail details: markup and endcaps

October 8th, 2006, 10:31 Posted By: wraggster

Looks like peoples in the retail industry are getting pretty stoked about the Wiis about to make it into their respective stores. We got our hands on the CompUSA hardware / software markup sheet for Nintendo's new console, as well as some spy pics of some Target Wii endcaps and the variety of accessories those will be stocking, as well. No, we're not that hard up for stuff on the console, but we do think that $12.50 is a pretty weak margin on the console, while, as expected, games, and accessories have a much fatter profit for retailers. Anyway, check it out (price on the left is, of course, retail; price on the right is cost):

WII CONSOLE - 249.99 / 237.50
WII REMOTE CONTROLL - 39.99 / 32.00
WII POINTS CARD - 24.99 / 17.00
WII CLASSIC CONTROLLER - 19.99 / 14.50
WII NUNCHUK CONTROLLER - 19.99 / 14.50
WII GPAK ORGANIZER&TRAVEL - 29.99 / 18.95
WII RAYMAN RAVING RABIDS - 49.99 / 41.2
WII THE LEGEND OF ZELDA:TW - 49.99 / 40.00
WII RED STEEL REVOLUTION - 49.99 / 41.22

Masses of Wii Screens via Comments

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ScummVM DS v0.9.1beta3

October 8th, 2006, 10:45 Posted By: wraggster

AgentQ has released a new beta version of the Port of ScummVM to the Nintendo DS:

ScummVM is an interpreter that allows you to play Lucasarts' back catalog of point and click adventure games on modern computers. I didn't write ScummVM, that honour goes to the ScummVM team. ScummVM is written in portable C++ and has been ported to many differnet platforms, and I have made a port of it to the DS. This means that you can play all these classic games on the DS with full sound.

Heres whats new:

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Sakurai on Smash Bros. Brawl

October 8th, 2006, 14:05 Posted By: wraggster

Super Smash Bros. Brawl director Masahiro Sakurai made an appearance at last week's Tokyo Game Show as part of a talk event hosted by Metal Gear Solid producer Hideo Kojima. The topic of Smash Bros. Brawl came up only once, with Sakurai assuring that development is proceeding smoothly with the game.

It turns out that Sakurai had a bit more to say on the subject, but he was holding out for an interview with Japan's Weekly Famitsu. This week's issue contains the text of the interview.

Mostly, Sakurai reinforced statements he'd made in the past about his big Wii project. Smash Bros. Brawl will definitely see Japanese release in 2007, he said, although he wouldn't commit to a more specific time frame.

Following a discussion in which Sakurai commented that many Wii games seem to be tailored around the Wii controller, Famitsu asked if Smash Bros. Brawl won't be using the controller's special functionality at all. "At the very least, you won't be using it during normal play," responded Sakurai.

Smash Bros. Brawl seems to be getting all of Sakurai's attention at the moment. Famitsu asked if he's working on anything aside from the Wii title and a recent concert that he lead in Tokyo. Apparently, Sakurai has gotten many offers, but he's turned them all down. "I feel the need to fully take on the responsibility when taking on a job. This has become even more important since becoming a freelancer. If you take on two projects, you definitely won't be able do a good job with a game as big as Smash Bros. Brawl."

While Nintendo didn't have a presence at the Tokyo Game Show, and thus didn't show off anything from Smash Bros. Brawl, it's possible that we'll learn more when the big Japanese Wii tour kicks off in November.

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Naked Wii Screenshots

October 8th, 2006, 14:11 Posted By: wraggster

Some screenshots of Wii accessories have been posted but they arent totally flattering

Check em out via comments

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DS Linux News - New CF driver

October 8th, 2006, 14:58 Posted By: wraggster

From the official site:

SirSiggi has sent me his M3CF card, and I have written an new CF driver for M3 and Supercard.

So, I think, the majority of RAM based cards has a driver now.

More details --> http://dslinux.org/amadeus/?p=22

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Wright Flight - Multiplayer Gravity Force style action v0.0.6

October 8th, 2006, 15:05 Posted By: wraggster

ttursas posted a new release of his game for the DS, heres whats new:

* Added version number into the save data. Only the latest save format will be supported in the coming releases.
* The client's IP will be reloaded from dswifilib after making a connection to an AP.
* Key input reading on the ARM7 side is done from the very first frame.
* Started to work on the game configuration menu screen (added gas and gravity).
* Keeping the layer change button pressed doesn't make your plane to change the layers more than once.
* When changing layers the front layer grows bigger before becoming the back layer.
* Added gas (meter and functionality).
* Changing layers eats gasoline.
* Now the player doesn't collide with the layer graphics while changing the layers.
* Made the camera independent (so the screen isn't centered on the player all the time anymore).
* Touching layer graphics will kill the player.
* Added respawning.

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments

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Screenshots of the Wii case front and back

October 9th, 2006, 00:23 Posted By: wraggster

As said in the topic

Check them out Via Comments

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DsGoClock : a Go Clock for the Ds :)

October 9th, 2006, 00:45 Posted By: wraggster

trooper posted this news/release:

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Popular Petition: Pro Wii Region-Free

October 9th, 2006, 19:42 Posted By: SuperJMN

Hello.

I would like to inform you that there's a recently popular movement that has created a formal petition for region-free Wii games. The petition is targeted to Nintendo in several languages (including English, Spanish and French) and can be seen on this page from PetitionOnline (http://www.petitiononline.com/wii1234/petition.html)

The supporting website URL is http://freewii.freehostia.com, written in Spanish as the promoter is spanish. They have about 2000 signs in only 3 days and the initiative is being very well taken and the most important websites in Spain already have news about this petition.

I would like to spread the word in the international scene to increase the popularity and make the petition a success.

I'm sending this e-mail to Gizmodo, Ars Technica and DCEmu UK (via "send news" forum).

Thank you.

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Wii Remote: An in-depth analysis

October 9th, 2006, 20:27 Posted By: wraggster

Heres an excerpt from the article:

You know how the Wii controller works. You know what it can do. You've seen the press shots and read the games previews. But how does the controller actually feel?

No matter how many Wii game previews you read, finally getting your hands on the controller in December (or November, if you're a super-keen importer) will be a totally new, slightly unusual feeling. But we analysed, poked, prodded and playtested the controller to death in a recent hands-on session with Wii to bring you these detailed impressions of exactly what the controller is like and how it performs.

Please note, Nintendo was quick to stress that the controllers we used were not final retail units, and so may still differ slightly from the end product you'll be excitedly plucking off the shelves. But apart from a couple of the controllers still being hard-wired to the consoles (instead of being fully wireless), they felt pretty near to complete to us.

THE WII REMOTE
The Wii Remote is, as you'd expect from Nintendo, a solidly-designed, comfortable piece of kit. At roughly the length of an average biro pen, the remote has curves in all the right places to make reaching all the buttons an effortless ordeal.

When held in the remote position, your thumb sits nicely over the A, with the D-pad easily within reach. On the flipside, your index finger rests completely naturally on the B trigger - a curved button that is strangely satisfying to press.

Earlier versions of the controller felt light and relatively cheap - as expected for a demo containing almost none of the final controller's technical guts. But we immediately noticed that these newer controllers were, on the contrary, rather weighty. Just think, as well as the buttons and usual circuitry, there's a force-feedback motor, speaker, battery pack, accelerometer thingies and the sensor panel and trickery all packed into that small unit so it's bound to have some heft. It's good - it feels like quality. And it feels expensive (which at £30, you might say it is).

How does it perform? Superbly. The feature that's most intriguing to begin with is its pointer functionality, as this is the first function you see in action, used to navigate almost all game menu screens we've seen so far on Wii.

Full Article

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Sonic GBA remake details

October 9th, 2006, 20:30 Posted By: wraggster

SEGA's Game Boy Advance port of the original Sonic The Hedgehog game, announced as part of Sonic's 15th anniversary celebration earlier this year, is due out on 14th November - and SEGA's offered a few more details of what's going into it.

Dubbed "Sonic The Hedgehog Genesis", the GBA title promises "perfectly ported" versions of each of the Megadrive original's seven zones, along with a special Anniversary mode that allows you to use the Spin Dash ability as well.

You'll also be able to take advantage of a proper save feature, recording progress and high scores, rather than having to start again every time you load it up like the old days version, with unlockable songs from the original soundtrack completing the package.

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Yet another brain trainer

October 9th, 2006, 20:38 Posted By: wraggster

Via Eurogamer

505 Gamestreet has announced The Professor's Brain Trainer: Logic and The Professor's Brain Trainer: Memory for Nintendo DS.

Created in conjunction with renowned brain and neurology professor Dr. Makoto Shichida, of the University of Newport (there's something awfully familiar about all of this), Brain Trainer tests, trains and improves a player's brain functions by getting them to complete challenges and solve problems using the DS' dual displays and touch-screen functionality.

What on earth is going on, eh? Anyway, you can see how this particular brain training game is shaping up in the first seven screenshots, which seem to apply to both versions. And if you're wondering about the distinction - Logic focuses on maths ability and concentration, while Memory deals with memory (amazingly), visual association and, er, concentration again. Maybe they weren't concentrating.

Screens Here

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Beup Live 0.3 Final

October 9th, 2006, 20:57 Posted By: jojotjuh

HtheB and KevinC!!! have released a new version of their MSN Clone for the DS, heres the details:

As maybe you notice, beup was freezing at "doing handshake". Microsoft changed their server, so it's been corrected now. Sorry for the late upload, but you can download the new working

Movie:




Have fun! ^_^

HtheB

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Nintendo DS Lite Pokemon Center Limited Edition

October 9th, 2006, 21:43 Posted By: wraggster



Lik Sang have today posted that they have the new Pokemon DS Lite for sale at their store.

More details --> http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?pro...1&lsaid=219793

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Clubhouse Games

October 9th, 2006, 21:45 Posted By: wraggster

New DS Game released:



It's game night and everyone’s invited. Play more than 20 classic board, card and party games alone, with friends or via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. With familiar favorites like checkers, darts and poker, Clubhouse Games is for everyone and part of the Touch Generations library. Video game newcomers will appreciate the easy-to-use interface. Players can challenge up to seven friends with one game card via Multi-Card Play or DS Download Play. Can't play checkers without shouting "KING ME!" across the table? The in-game (PictoChat-like) feature takes table talk to a new level. There's no need to lug around cards or boards when you want to play a quick game. Clubhouse Games is one-stop gaming that will appeal to everyone's tastes, whether they’re in the mood for bowling, backgammon, bridge or billiards.

More info / buy here --> http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?pro...3&lsaid=219793

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Wii Will Have an Updatable Linux OS

October 9th, 2006, 21:52 Posted By: wraggster

There's bits and pieces of information floating around that revolve around Iwata Asks interviews on Nintendo's website. What I found interesting was the tidbit about the updatable operating system: 'Wii is the first system from Nintendo that we can continue to be involved in (via operating system updates) after the customer buys it. This means that Wii will greatly expand and diversify the ways in which people will enjoy games in the future.' The Wii is reported to operate on top of a proprietary form of the Linux kernel, although there are already efforts to make a GNU/Linux for the console. So, the answer to the age old question is that it already runs Linux

Via /.

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First public version of RCC (ROM Collection Checker) released

October 9th, 2006, 22:05 Posted By: SukkoPera

RCC is a ROM-managing tool written taking inspiration from RomCenter and ClrMamePro. It is capable of reading DAT files in their formats and to scan directories searching for ROMs. It can also copy or move the found ROMs to another directory, while renaming them, making life easier to ROM collectors.

RCC is developed under GNU/Linux, but should also work on other UN*X-like operating systems and on Microsoft Windows, if you compile the sources.

This is the first public release, so feedback is very appreciated .

Download: http://www.nogood.it/sukkopera/misc/rcc-0.3.tar.gz

(I know this is not strictly a GBA-related news, but it can help to manage a GBA ROM collection, too. Actually that's what I developed it for! Anyway moderators feel free to delete this post if you find it OT.)

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Nintendo to mix art, commerce

October 9th, 2006, 22:08 Posted By: wraggster

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reports that a system for guiding visitors through art galleries using the Nintendo DS Lite is about to undergo its first field tests. The software, which is being developed at Nintendo HQ in Kyoto, will use the DS to provide spoken explanations of the artwork, and show detailed pictures of the art on the DS screen. While viewing the art on the DS screen may seem to defeat the purpose of going to an art gallery, visitors will be able to use the touch-pen to zoom in on any area of the piece for a closer look--a useful feature if the art happens to be behind glass or otherwise inaccessible to close inspection. The first real test of the system will be conducted at an unspecified art exhibition in Tokyo next month.

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Wright Flight 0.0.7

October 10th, 2006, 01:07 Posted By: wraggster

ttursas has again updated his homebrew game for the DS, heres whats new:

Turbo acceleration eats twice as much gas as before.
The gas bar is now divided into four sections, for clarity (as changing layers eats one section).
Made the multiplayer game logic a bit clearer.
Added lives.
It's possible to disconnect from the game server during a match.
It's possible to end a match on the server, and start a new one (no need to restart it anymore).

The game is still missing a lot of things, but hey, next week next version.

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Nintendo DS Browser Comp

October 10th, 2006, 01:10 Posted By: wraggster

Opera have posted a comp to win a DS Browser on their site, heres the info:

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Metareview: Clubhouse Games

October 10th, 2006, 01:12 Posted By: wraggster

Via DSFanboy

Featuring more than 20 classic board, card, and party games, Clubhouse Games allows gamers to play alone or take things online via Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connect service and is the latest entry in Nintendo's Touch Generation line of games. Released in Europe as 42 All-Time Classics, the gameplay of both titles is identical. Featuring plenty of gameplay and a budget price, Clubhouse Games has plenty to offer. Is what it offers worth the price of admission, however?

IGN - 80%: "The entire package is about casual, portable pick-up-and-playability when you've got some time to kill. That being the case, the variety on offer here is simply staggering. The fact that Nintendo's poured so much energy into ensuring everything is solidly entertaining - with particular props going to the multitude of mulitplayer and online options - just sweetens things further."
Cubed3 - 80%: "Whilst games like Billiards border on the unplayable you will cherish that cart next time you are stuck in a tunnel on the way home from work/uni/college/school and can pull out your DS for a quick game of blackjack or solitaire. Or to see if you can finally get 3 strikes in a row for the bowling mission. It this is a highly personal choice for any gamer as strictly speaking these games are nothing new; but in terms of affordability, replayability and downright fun we feel it's worth it."
Nintendo Power - 70%: "If you plan on playing with your friends, it's indespensible; if you'll be going at it alone, there's a fair amount to do but you may lose patience with the scoring and lack of single-player variety. [Nov. 2006, p.87]"
The points made that many of these games can be played for free via several different online outlets is certainly a valid one, however with the convenience of clumping all these games together for a small price, along with Wi-Fi Connect support, we certainly feel the package is worth the price. What about you, fine reader?

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Pokemon Pearl video

October 10th, 2006, 01:14 Posted By: wraggster

Want to see some Pokemon action of the new game released?

Well heres a link to a video on Youtube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=MAoOtAZPnMc

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Invasion Preview

October 10th, 2006, 01:22 Posted By: wraggster

Tinman posted this news:

Here's a preview of my new DS game Invasion
hopefully I will be able to release it this week

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Call of Duty 3 fires new media barrage

October 10th, 2006, 16:58 Posted By: wraggster

Call of Duty's latest assault on the WWII FPS scene has reached the staging post in preparation for next month's invasion (on Xbox 360, Xbox and PS2), but prior to the launch of the offensive, new screenshots have been deployed along with a trailer you may have yet to clap eyes on. Feast your peepers on the CoD 3 action occurring on this very page.

Just in case you've been living under a rock, Call of Duty 3 finds players strapping on combat boots as US, British, Polish and Canadian troopers and battling the Nazi war machine. Activision and developer Treyarch have chosen to focus on the Normandy Breakout for the sequel, one of WWII's most brutal campaigns that saw Allied forces advancing across France in the wake of the D-Day landings.

Screenshots are from the Xbox 360 and Wii versions of Call of Duty 3 (we reckon the trailer's from the 360 version). The game is also releasing for the PS3 and looks pretty similar to its 360 cousin. You should also flick eyes up and check out yesterday's preview for a more in-depth look at the 360 CoD 3 assault.

Screenshots Here

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Wii/PS3 launch line-ups revealed?

October 10th, 2006, 17:04 Posted By: wraggster

Sony could launch with as many as 24 titles and Wii with 30, according to a new document detailing the two consoles' launch plans.

In a report on new hardware launches spotted by Next-gen.biz, Wedbush Morgan Securities released its "anticipated" launch line-up for the two consoles with the aid of the companies mentioned below, although both SCEA and Nintendo are yet to confirm their full launch rosters.

The list reads as follows, with WMS's own estimated sell-in numbers included:

PlayStation 3
Resistance: Fall of Man - Sony
Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom - Sony
Genji: Days of the Blade - Sony
Gran Turismo HD - Sony
NBA 07 - Sony
Call of Duty 3 - Activision (600,000)
Marvel Ultimate Alliance - Activision (310,000)
Tony Hawk's Project 8 - Activision (300,000)
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Bethesda Softworks
Fight Night 3 - Electronic Arts (400,000)
Madden NFL 07 - Electronic Arts (700,000)
NBA Live 07 - Electronic Arts (500,000)
Need for Speed Carbon - Electronic Arts (800,000)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 - Electronic Arts (400,000)
Mobile Suit Gundam: Target In Sight - Namco Bandai
Ninja Gaiden Sigma - Namco Bandai
Ridge Racer 7 - Namco Bandai
Full Auto 2: Battlelines - Sega
Sonic the Hedgehog - Sega
NBA 2K7 - Take-Two Interactive (400,000)
NHL 2K7 - Take-Two Interactive (200,000)
Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII - Ubisoft
Rainbow Six: Vegas - Ubisoft
F.E.A.R. - Vivendi

NINTENDO Wii
Wii Sports (bundled with hardware) - Nintendo
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Nintendo
Excite Truck - Nintendo
Call of Duty 3 - Activision (200,000)
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - Activision (200,000)
Rapala Tournament Fishing - Activision (50,000)
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam - Activision (300,000)
World Series of Poker - Activision (50,000)
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 - Atari (200,000)
Trauma Center: Second Opinion - Atlus
Madden NFL 07 - Electronic Arts (500,000)
Need for Speed: Carbon - Electronic Arts (500,000)
Elebits - Konami
The Ant Bully - Midway m (100,000)
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy- Midway (50,000)
Happy Feet- Midway (100,000)
Rampage: Total Destruction - Midway (50,000)
Avatar: The Last Airbender - THQ (200,000)
The Barnyard - THQ (200,000)
Disney's/Pixar's Cars - THQ (300,000)
SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab - THQ (300,000)
Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII - Ubisoft
Far Cry: Vengeance - Ubisoft
GT Pro Series - Ubisoft
Monster 4x4: World Circuit - Ubisoft
Open Season - Ubisoft
Prince of Persia - Ubisoft
Rayman Raving Rabbids - Ubisoft
Red Steel - Ubisoft
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent Ubisoft

It could be a very expensive Christmas then, if these predictions turn out to be correct. And with the exception Prince of Persia Wii - which Ubisoft previously announced for release next year - we'd say the report is a pretty fair stab as well.

It's also important to note that we're expecting even more titles for the European PS3 release list, considering its debut this side of the pond has now been pushed back to next year.

But we are of course taking the analysts' word with a very large pinch of salt, and we'll let you know when either company give official word.