New Nintendo eShop releases: Super Metroid, Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts, Mega Man 5
by Richard Mitchell
(5 days ago)
Meanwhile, the Wii gets some love this week with a Virtual Console release of King of Fighters '99.
Finally, there are a couple of sales. Runner 2 is available for 25 percent off its usual $14.99 price. Also, those who purchase (or already own) Super Mario World on the Wii U Virtual Console can pick up Super Mario Bros. 2 for half price.
Players can customize their character and living space – right down to the choice of pet and pet accessories – and work to build relationships with their friends, hoping eventually to reach "True Friend" status (aren't we all?). Activities include things like horse riding, photography, pet training, dancing and, our personal favorite, delivering cupcakes.
LEGO Friends heads to DS and 3DS this fall.
New Nintendo eShop releases: Mario and Donkey Kong, Xevious, Solomon's Key
by Richard Mitchell
(12 days ago)
Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move highlights the new eShop releases this week. The 3DS puzzler has players guiding poor little mini Marios away from hazards by building a Pipe Dream-esque maze. The Wii U Virtual Console picks up two new games in the classic shooter Xevious and puzzle platformer Solomon's Key.
You can also pick up Chasing Aurora for half price on the Wii U until May 16. A demo for the Wii U version of Resident Evil: Revelations arrives May 14.
Nintendo's blurb says its line represents "the only refurbished products in the market that have been cleaned, tested, and inspected to meet Nintendo's high standards." Well then. The portables have a one year warranty and are guaranteed to work, even if there are any "minor cosmetic blemishes."
Alas, Eurofriends, it seems this one's a NoA thing. "We currently have no plans and have made no announcements for this type of activity in Europe," Nintendo UK told Eurogamer.
When Deoxys was first introduced back in 2005, it was revealed as part of a cross-promotion between Pokémon and NASA designed to help teach kids about DNA. Perhaps you didn't realize, when you woke up this morning, that you lived in a world where NASA and Pokémon had collaborated.
On 3DS, the collection of NES Mega Man games grows with Mega Man 4. And Color Commando launches on DSiWare, a puzzle-platformer about placing blobs of paint around a level to neutralize same-color monsters.
Nintendo not doing E3 press conference, holding smaller closed events instead
by JC Fletcher
(26 days ago)
One of these events will be for American distributors, with another closed event "for mainly the Western gaming media." Iwata noted that Nintendo is not planning to announce any new hardware at this E3, with showing off software the main focus.
While Nintendo is dropping a lot of mainstream press attention with this move, it makes a lot of sense for a company with the recent financial history of Nintendo to skip out on some expensive pageantry. Especially when the company makes E3-level announcements monthly, for a tiny fraction of the cost.
The extended maintenance is scheduled between 1PM PT today (4PM ET, 9PM UK) and 7PM PT (10PM ET, 3AM UK). The eShop and shopping channels for the Wii U, 3DS, Wii, and DS will be affected, so expect them to go down during those hours.
The only place to get the full soundtracks still is through Rockstar's box set releases; however, if you want to just listen to the ads, you can point your browser to The Advertising Council.
Rockstar recently revealed the box art for Grand Theft Auto 5, due on September 17 for Xbox 360 and PS3. Even though over 100,000 have signed a petition calling for a PC port, Take-Two has not announced Grand Theft Auto 5 for the PC at this time.
New Nintendo eShop releases: Dillon's Rolling Western, Kirby's Adventure
by JC Fletcher
(1 month ago)
Also out on April 16: Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers on 3DS. It'll be out digitally and in stores as well. Today, you'll be able to download the Dillon's Rolling Western sequel.
The show starts at the Greek Theatre on Wednesday, June 12, which puts it right on the second day of E3 2013. If you want tickets, they'll be available this Saturday at 10AM through Ticketmaster.
This is a newly scheduled stop on the Zelda tour, but it's not the only one: The full schedule has dates around the rest of California, in Texas, and up in Seattle and Toronto as well.
Yes, there's another CG and live-action Smurfs movie coming out this July, and Ubisoft is publishing the official game adaptation.
However, instead of the truly off-putting dance game released for the first movie, Ubisoft has smurfed WayForward into making a 2.5D, co-op platformer for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and Wii U, and an "interactive storytelling book and collection of mini-games" for DS. All versions will march into stores this July.
Each playable Smurf has unique special abilities: Papa Smurf can throw potions, Grouchy can stomp, and Vanity can ... pose to become a platform. We don't expect too much from a licensed Smurfs game, but WayForward has a particular talent for licensed games, with Aliens: Infestation and Adventure Time as recent examples.
But Disney Interactive has a second game in the works. A game based on Disney's Planes, the Disney-produced, formerly straight-to-DVD spinoff of Cars, will be released on Wii U, Wii, 3DS, and DS on August 6, three days before the movie is released.
"The game will expand beyond the storyline of the Disney's Planes film," Nintendo reveals, "offering players the opportunity to enjoy the thrill of flight as one of the popular characters from the film."
"I almost feel like, as people get more familiar with Wii U and these touchscreen interfaces, that there is going to come a point where they feel like 'I can't do everything I want to do if I don't have a second screen'." The trick, of course, is getting people familiar with Wii U, something Nintendo has yet to accomplish judging by hardware sales.
"I feel a device like Wii U, with its ability to continue to offer new features and that network connection and the connection to the TV and the interface, really makes it feel that it's more than just a game machine, but something that offers a lot of practical use and practical purpose in the living room," Miyamoto said.
Miyamoto reiterated plans to update the firmware to make it "a little more stable, a little bit more convenient to use from a system standpoint." He's also working on figuring out how to "convey the usefulness of Wii U" to potential owners through games. "For me as a game developer, obviously I look at Wii U from the perspective of what games I can bring to Wii U."