Sonic In Nintendo Wii’s Super Smash Bros. Brawl: There’s Still Hope

Ever since the announcement of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for Wii and DS, anxious gamers have been pondering the possibilities. And the most enticing prospect of all would be Sonic appearing in Super Smash. Bros. Brawl.

GameDaily BIZ recently interviewed Nintendo’s George Harrison and Sega’s Simon Jeffery and asked the question directly.

BIZ: Is this partnership perhaps an indicator that we might indeed see Sonic make an appearance in the upcoming Wii title Super Smash Bros. Brawl?

GH: We can’t really comment on any sort of hidden characters in Smash Bros. at this point. Simon did reference that we’ve had a growing cooperation and respect over the last few years, and I think each success builds on itself. So we expect this game to be very successful. I am a little concerned about Sonic’s speed when he’s racing Mario in a footrace, so we’ll have to see how we can equalize that.

Hmmm…each success builds on itself, and they expect this game to be very successful. “We can’t really comment” is not a denial in any sense of the word. Time will tell on this one — but there’s certainly more hope than ever before.

Nintendo Wii Shortage Conspiracy Denied

The Wii shortage claims by GameStop COO Dan DeMatteo have been vehemently denied by Nintendo.

DeMatteo had asserted that “…this just my opinion, but I think (Nintendo) intentionally dried up supply because they made their numbers for the year. The new year starts April 1, and I think we’re going to see supply flowing,”

Not so, says Nintendo as quoted by GamePro.

No, that’s not at all the case,” Harrison stated in a phone interview with Next-Gen.biz. “We have worldwide territories that are all competing over the available production. The Japan and European markets are doing extremely well with the Wii. People in Japan at [Nintendo Co., Ltd.] are making the best decisions that they can about which products get shipped to which market and when.”

In direct response to the COO’s comments, Harrison later added, “Every retailer would want to have more [Wiis]. I think [DeMatteo's comments] may have been GameStop’s way of trying to request more.”

Source

Nintendo Wii Virtual Console Lineup Is A Knockout!

Thank God it’s Friday, for today is the day the Wii Shop channel fattens its roster with Virtual Console titles. The roster gets fatter, and our wallets get lighter.

The announcement from Nintendo:

This week’s Wii Virtual Console line-up looks set to be a knockout!  Nintendo is releasing three epic games from days gone by, starting with the comical boxing game Punch Out!!. The player assumes the role of a rookie trying to make it in the boxing world by working his way through the ranks and embarking on numerous matches. Each fight results in repute and fame with the ultimate winner eventually earning the world champion title. Punch Out!! is available this week for only 500 points.

Also up for grabs is the SNES action adventure, The Legend of the Mystical Ninja. This action packed game sees two characters, Kid Ying and Dr. Yang, on a quest to rescue a kidnapped princess. Players must complete tasks and battle enemies in order to save our heroine and finish the quest. And if you need a helping hand, two-player mode allows players to piggyback each other to make the battling even more dynamic! The Legend of the Mystical Ninja is available for Wii points.

Joining these two games on Virtual Console is the Turbografx classic, Dragon’s Curse. Originally released in 1990, Dragon’s Curse follows a warrior, who after an unfortunate run-in with a dragon becomes Lizard-Man. The object of the game is to retrieve the Salamander Cross, and become human once more. En route the player must defeat various dragon bosses in order to change his form and eventually return to a human state! Dragon’s Curse is available on Wii’s Virtual Console this Friday for only 600 Wii Points

Source

G1 Jockey for Nintendo Wii Announced by Koei

Koei has announced the hugely successful G1 Jockey series for the Nintendo Wii. The Wiimote will be used as the whip and the nunchuck used to steer and drive the horse thereby allowing G1 Jockey Wii to recreate the entire horse racing experience much more realistically and instinctively.

G1 Jockey Wii Overview:

As well as giving gamers, the chance to whip themselves into shape while striving to be the king of the final furlong, G1 Jockey Wii also contains an incredibly deep career mode where players get the chance to work their way from rookie status to horse racing legend.

This game will also give you the opportunity to breed your own horses and develop them into a stable of true thoroughbred winners. G1 Jockey Wii is all about making the most of your original opportunities and building up your repute within the racing world. The more you and your horses impress the more chances to make it into the big time will be presented to you.

Naoki Katashima, Senior VP, KOEI Europe said, “Throughout the history of this series we have tried to make G1 Jockey feel as close to the real thing as possible. Thanks to the Wii controllers we now have the prospect to bring the effort and skill of this incredible sport to gamers like never before.”

Will Curley, KOEI Sales Manager explains, “We’re hopeful that this game will make all horse racing games before it look like a right load of old pony and have gamers trotting down to their local store to back a genuine winner and be first past the post with the greatest horse racing game ever.”

G1 Jockey for Nintendo Wii will release in the United Kingdom and Europe on June 29, 2007. We say, one more innovative way to use the Wiimote!

Source

Nintendo Wii, DS To Be Featured At E For All

IDG is an expo that’s open for all, and both Wii and DS will be featured since Nintendo has just signed up as an anchor exhibitor.  If you’re in the area…why wouldn’t you go to this sort of thing?

The good news from IDG:

IDG World Expo today announced that Nintendo of America has signed on as an anchor exhibitor for IDG World Expo’s newest event: Entertainment for All Expo (E for All), scheduled for October 18-21, 2007, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Nintendo leads an A-list of game companies signing on for a show that is rapidly shaping up to be the premiere event in interactive entertainment.

Entertainment for All Expo (E for All) is a new event created for people who are passionate about video games and everything related. The Expo was launched in response to strong demand within the consumer audience for an opportunity to see and try new products before they reach store shelves. Event organizers anticipate its mid-October dates will launch an early and successful holiday shopping season for the industry.

“The E for All Expo supports Nintendo’s mission to reach as many types of consumers as possible to expand the world of video games to new audiences,” says George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. “Our Wii and Nintendo DS systems are all about gaming for the masses, and the E for All Expo will give consumers a chance to try out the hottest new Nintendo video games.”

“Nintendo’s early involvement in E for All demonstrates the importance of a broad consumer-focused event for this industry,” says Mary Dolaher, executive vice president of IDG World Expo. “E for All has been shaped from the ground up with all gamers in mind, and Nintendo has proven its commitment to embracing the spectrum of gamers, as we’ve seen with their launch of the Wii. In addition to being our flagship exhibitor, Nintendo of America Executive Vice President of Operations Don James has agreed to serve on our Exhibitor Advisory Board. I couldn’t ask for a more universally respected colleague in this new venture.”

E for All Expo will offer consumers the opportunity to test-drive the latest in games and gadgetry, as well as purchase products they enjoyed over the course of the 4-day event at on-site retail facilities. Additional attractions are in the works, including high-profile videogame tournaments; job fair/networking opportunities; and the acclaimed Video Games Live concert. In addition to the Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the event will take advantage of soon-to-be-expanded LA Live/NOKIA Theatre area directly adjacent.

E for All Expo has been endorsed by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the U.S. association exclusively dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies that publish video and computer games for video game consoles, personal computers, and the Internet. ESA members collectively account for more than 90 percent of the $7 billion in entertainment software sold in the U.S. in 2005, and billions more in export sales of U.S.-made entertainment software.

 Source

Microsoft Says Wii is for Babies

March 28, 2007 - Oh, sweet mud-slinging, how we love you. It would be impossible to count how many times company reps poked fun at GameCube, just as it would be a difficult undertaking to calculate how many times former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi spoke ill of his hardware competitors. Nowadays, though, publishers rarely speak badly of Nintendo or Wii as both are overwhelming success stories.But Microsoft’s group product manager for Xbox and the Live platform, John Rodman, recently took a stab at it. According to a report by Daily Tech, Rodman insinuated that gamers would outgrow Nintendo’s new console just as soon as their voices started to change.

“We don’t feel like the Wii customer and the Xbox customer are the same thing,” Rodman reportedly said. “We think that as soon as the Wii customer turns 14, they want something else.”

Whoops. We must’ve missed that memo. And so did our parents.

Source 

Viewers upset over ‘offensive’ Wii ad

A Wii television commercial has been brought to the attention of the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) after receiving several complaints from viewers that found the “depiction of violence in the ad offensive and disturbing”.

The advertisement highlights the unique motion-sensing capabilities of the Wii Remote by showing players of varying ages swinging the Remote like a sword to make an on-screen character kill enemies with a sword. Other scenes showed the player using the Remote like a gun.

The ASA received 17 complaints from viewers who found the images disturbing, particularly of one of a player slashing the Wii Remote which cuts to an in-game man falling to the floor clutching his head.

One viewer said the scenes were reminiscent of hostage videos released by terrorists in Iraq, although the ASA ruled that “viewers were unlikely to link the ad to recent events in Iraq.”

Others said the advertisements should not be show later, when children won’t be watching.

Speaking on behalf of the ASA, Leo Burnett defended Nintendo saying that the sword-fighting scenes, which were taken from Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, were cartoon-like, lacking blood and containing fictional monsters, reports VNU.

The agency concluded that viewers would recognise that the ad was intended to promote videogames for Wii, which are designed to be played by gamers of all ages.

The ASA said: “We noted that the ad featured scenes from many different games, several of which were family-oriented and involved, for example, playing golf, tennis and baseball, fishing and bursting balloons.

“We considered that the scenes from Red Steel did not feature explicit or graphic violence and were only one part of the ad, which primarily promoted a games console aimed at people of all ages and running games in a variety of genres.”

 Source 

TurboGrafx-16 Virtual Console Outlined for April

Though Nintendo of America seems completely incapable of letting everyone know what they have planned for Virtual Console until the day of, Namco Bandai and Hudson Soft seem to have no trouble figuring out what’s coming for the entire month of April. Granted, their releases are at a slower pace, but c’mon.

In any case, the official Virtual Console page has revealed what’s coming for the TurboGraphx-16 (of which each game costs 600 points) in the next few weeks:

Dragon’s Curse (April 2nd, Hudson Soft)

Shockman (April, Huson Soft)

Battle Lode Runner (April, Hudson Soft)

Bonk’s Revenge (April, Hudson Soft)

Bravoman (April, Hudson Soft)

Source

Secret Wii HD under production? Code Name WiiVolution

According to an anonymous source that Game-X-ray refuses to name for the moment, the code name of the console would be WiiVolution and it would be about one response to Xbox 360 Elite that Microsoft has just announced. As from black color, we learned as this WiiVolution would have a hard disk of 160 Gb, that is to say 40 Gb moreover than the Elite. This disc would be located in the base being used to hold the console. It would also have a port HDMI and reader DVD would allow the film DVD reading with the same principle “of upscaling” as Xbox 360 Elite, allowing the film listening in 1080i. What would be the real evolution behind WiiVolution is a Wiimote news for the feet. Thanks to this peripheral, it would be possible to simulate the movement of botté of a balloon or to play sets of engagements, and to dance in a way never yet reached on console. Unfortunately, it was not possible to obtain information on anything connected to this rumour, on the side of Nintendo. We will follow this hot file for you.

 Source

WiigoBot melds Lego with Wii bowling, knocks down all 10 pins in our hearts

If a lowly blogger could die from awesomeness, we’re pretty sure we’d be keeling over right about now. The Lego Mindstorms geekz0rs over at BattleBricks have managed to reach new heights of human ingenuity, melding a Mindstorms NXT kit, some clever programming and Nintendo’s Wii to create an unstoppable bowling machine capable of tossing a perfect game without breaking a sweat, growing a nasty mustache, or sporting a beer belly. While the BattleBricks folks don’t provide precise instructions on how to build this yourself, they’ve got plenty of evidence that it does, indeed, bowl like a champ. So peep the action video after the break, and then start plotting your own NXT creation conquer some other form of automated Wii Sports point inflation — we never could quite get the hang of tennis.

Presenting a Lego NXT Wii Playing Robot that can bowl a perfect game:

Meet WiigoBot:

The Hardware:

You are looking at a Wii Remote mounted on a robotically controlled swing. A second motor is used to trigger the bowling, by first Pressing the A button and left arrow, and then holding down the B button, swinging, and finally releasing the B button.

Here is a screenshot of the advanced programming required:

And Now for Some Action:

http://www.youtube.com/v/KUvind4t7Pk

The Perfect Game!

A Congratulatory Letter From Wii:

More Photos of the Robot: