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Wii getting cell phone shovelware, thanks Gameloft

In companies' rush to capitalize on the industry's fascination with waggle, the Wii has become no stranger to games we'd sooner use to prop up the short leg of our coffee table than play. Much as it seems counterintuitive, novelty has not been par the course for the console so much as it has been quick cash-ins, though we continue to look to the Wii's digital download service WiiWare as the platform's saving grace.

It seems, however, that even WiiWare will not be immune to its share of shovelware, with mobile game developer-publisher Gameloft planning to use the service as a receptacle for cell phone games. We wouldn't mind so much if the company had originality on the brain, but its first effort, a Breakout clone going by the name of Block Breaker Deluxe, doesn't give us much hope. The download will be released in Japan in April before launching in other regions at a later date, giving us one to watch out for, if only to know what to avoid once WiiWare launches in North America on May 12.

[Via Wii Fanboy]

Readers pick best webcomic: You compete me

Retro gaming has never been so romantic. Never, we say! The folks at 2P Start have managed to take a simple idea and run with it elegantly. We're happy to note they've been voted the best game-related webcomic of the week.

Second place goes to to Digital Unrest's "Trends" while Hijinks Ensue comes in at third. Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week!

Continue reading Readers pick best webcomic: You compete me

Slot machines to become more like video games

There's usually not that much overlap between the gaming industry (the gambling one) and the gaming industry (the one you actually are about). That seems poised to change, though, as the New York Times reports slot machine manufacturers are adding skill-based gaming elements to the one-armed bandits in an effort to attract new players. "We can't just make a slot thinking about the 55-year-old lady who comes to the casino a few times a month," said Rob Bone, marketing director for WMS Gaming. "We need to appeal to new buckets of players, or we'll die."

To that end, Bally Technologies has signed a deal with Atari to make machines based on Pong and Breakout, which let you play simplified versions of the games during a bonus round. Don't get too excited, though -- your gaming skills won't let you break the bank at Vegas. As the Times points out, "skill will take a player only so far as these machines are still calibrated to pay out less money than they take in." That's OK though ... back in the '80s we put money into these games without expecting to get any money back.

[Thanks Vlad]

New iPod nano, classic ship with three games, no Parachute


Apple just made a whole slew of iPod-related announcements, with just the faintest hint of gamer love. Revealed during Steve Jobs' special iPod event, both the revamped iPod nano and the iPod classic will ship with three games: Vortex, iQuiz, and Klondike.

Klondike is just a fancy name for that Solitaire card game we all know and love, so nothing new there, and iQuiz is a remixed version of the older iPod "guess which song this is" game. Vortex, meanwhile, is a circular, three-dimensional brick-busting game in the style of arcade classics Breakout and Arkanoid. All three titles were developed in-house by Apple, and both Vortex and iQuiz can also currently be purchased on the iTunes store.

Even if the new nano is the Gimli to the old nano's Legolas, it's nice to see both it and the classic getting more into games. Jobs also promises more iPod games coming to the iTunes Store (Hey! You know what would be awesome on the iPod? Peggle!)

Although not addressed during the event, it's assumed that the brand new iPod touch will join the iPhone in being unable to play any games purchased from the iTunes Music Store.

Catch the headlines with Newsbreaker advergame


Tired of wasting time reading the news when you could be playing games? Wait, don't leave! OK, fine, go. We understand we can't compete with the games we cover. But at least promise us you'll go play a game like Newsbreaker so you can keep up with the headlines as you get your game on.

At first glance, Newsbreaker seems to be just the latest in a line of extremely generic Breakout clones, this time in the form of an MSNBC advergame. What's makes the game special is what is quite possibly the first recorded use of live news headlines as powerups. That's right, headlines pulled from MSNBC feeds slowly fall from some busted bricks, and catching 25 of them gets you an extra life. What's more, each caught headline is saved so you can read the full story once you're done playing.

We feel this combination of games and news is a good first step to combating the growing media illiteracy epidemic, but why stop there? How about giving Achievement Points for reading the newspaper every morning? Hiding secret codes for today's hottest games in the nightly news broadcast? Offering Gamestop gift certificates for listening to NPR? The game industry could single-handedly save the news business!

Is that a working Atari joystick in your pocket...

Tired of consoles that take up valuable entertainment center real estate? How about one that fits on your keychain instead? A new line of miniature Atari 2600 joysticks and paddles actually hook up to your TV to play built-in games. The mini-systems, which include two or three classic Atari games each, hook up to a TV through a six-foot RCA cord and external AAA battery pack.

We wonder how playable these games are on such small controllers, but just the idea of a TV console that fits in your pocket intrigues us. Now if we could only get a pocket sized Intellivision, we'd really be in business.

[Via Random Good Stuff]

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