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Okay, this is all pretty tenuous, but super interesting: apparently, a Sega of Europe employee kept a blog last year in which he revealed some stuff about NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams that he shouldn't have, well before the game's release. The posts have since been removed, but the Wayback Machine allows us to have a look back!

According to the blog post, Journey of Dreams was originally developed as an Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 title, and was hastily shunted to the Wii when the platform's success became obvious -- despite protests from director Takashi Iizuka. The 360 version was at least far enough along to be playable! The quick change in plans meant that NiGHTS' development time was effectively shortened. If you didn't like the game, you have something on which to blame the problems!

Also interesting, if this blog post is really as vintage as it looks (we don't discount some kind of Internet trickery): the blogger dropped a pretty big hint about a future Sega game, saying that Sonic Team should be freed from Sonic games, "... before they release another Sonic game with a transforming Evil 'Night' Sonic who looks like a werewolf and can stretch his arms out Dhalsim-style. It will happen, mark my words."


[Via tssznews, via NeoGAF]

We thought we had missed the opportunity to post the full list of Amazon Black Friday Wii deals, but we've checked this morning and every item isn't sold out! In fact, a lot of stuff is still in stock! Bless Amazon for making it possible for people to grab a huge deal without waking up at 2AM or waiting in line in the dang cold.

We may regret sharing this with you, as we have yet to get in on the $10 Resident Evil 4 or NiGHTS, the $26 de Blob, or the $8 Perfect Shot. But it's the holidays! 'Tis the season to be sharing, Fred.

In these belt-tightening, penny-pinching times, it literally pays to have a nose for the bargains. That's where we, or rather Gamefly, comes in. The game rental outfit has a broad selection of used Wii software for low, world banking crisis-friendly prices, and we chose ten of the best sub-$20 games to tempt you. Thar be bargains ahead!

• Baroque for $12.99
• Battalion Wars 2 for $17.99
• Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy for $9.99
• Dewy's Adventure for $13.99
• Geometry Wars: Galaxies for $16.99
• Mercury: Meltdown Revolution for $15.99
• NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams for $12.99
• No More Heroes for $17.99
• Sega Superstars Tennis for $9.99
• Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure for $17.99

There's actually a ton more we could have mentioned, including Super Mario Galaxy for $32.99, Super Smash Bros. Brawl for $30.99, and Metroid Prime 3 for $26.99. Sadly, "One hundred and fifty-eight for under forty-two" just doesn't work as a headline. Hit up the "Source" link for the full set.


[Thanks, William!]

What's more fun than dropping fifty bucks on a new game? Dropping fifty bucks on three new games. Diverging from their usual retro theme, Racketboy has posted a wonderfully long list of Wii, GameCube, and (obviously) WiiWare games that you can buy for less than $20. While people were busy complaining about the lack of quality third-party Wii games, a bunch of third-party Wii games came out and dropped in price immediately.

The list is populated by awesome shooters like Geometry Wars: Galaxies, Blast Works, and Ghost Squad, mascot games like NiGHTS, Sega Superstars Tennis, and Rayman: Raving Rabbids, and Elebits-style games like Elebits. And that's just in the Wii list! Each game also has handy Amazon and eBay search links attached. Go hit the ATM and check out the list!

Gamefly is having a sale on some of its used-but-in-great-condition games again, also offering free shipping to spice up the deal a bit. As always, we're passings these savings along to you, while picking out a few we think are worth highlighting for their respective prices:

• Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire for $12.99
  
• Dewy's Adventure for $14.99
  
• NiGHTS for $14.99
  
• Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law for $14.99
  
• Manhunt 2 for $14.99
  
• Victorious Boxers: Revolution for $15.99
  
• Soulcalibur Legends for $15.99
  
• Bleach: Shattered Blade for $17.99
  
• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption for $27.99
  
• Super Mario Galaxy for $36.99
  

Click on the picture or "source" link to see the full list of Wii games, but keep in mind that you might be able to find some of them cheaper elsewhere.

Amazon has dropped the price of NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams even further, from a tempting $20.99 to a tantalizing $16.88. At that price, it's almost irresistible! We know this because we are currently almost failing to resist it. Amazon's price for new copies has finally dipped down just below Gamefly's price for used copies, and, as with Gamefly, free shipping is available.

The rapidly-falling price for what was supposed to be the triumphant return of a beloved franchise doesn't really bode well for the future. We shouldn't look forward to a localized version of the PS2 NiGHTS into Dreams remake, for one thing. Or anything that doesn't star Sonic and about a billion other anthropomorphic jerks.

Amazon is now offering Super Smash Bros. Brawl at a reduced price of $40. We doubt this markdown is permanent (since demand is still awesomely high) but we don't know how long the new sale price will last.

Brawl for $40 may indeed be awesome, but it gets better! The $10 gift card offer we mentioned last week is still in effect, bringing the price down to (basically) $30. That's as cheap as you're likely to see it -- until the next unexpected markdown, which will probably be next week (judging from recent history). Oh, and while you're shopping at Amazon, why not throw a $20 copy of NiGHTS in?

If you're buying a GameCube controller at Amazon, why not buy a cheap Wii game to go with it?

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams is now marked down to $20.09 at the online retailer, which is a hard-to-resist price for an unused copy of Sega's game. Although it didn't get the best reviews, twenty dollars isn't a lot to ask when it comes to reliving a beloved franchise.

Does anyone who owns NiGHTS want to make a recommendation for or against it?

[Via CAG]

NiGHTS Community, a site for obsessive NiGHTS fans, came into possession of some rare Journey of Dreams memorabilia earlier this year when Sega gave the administrator a private demo of the game (!) Instead of hoarding it forever or selling it on eBay, the site has decided to give it away in a contest. And the prizes are all being given away individually instead of as a giant pile, so you have half a chance.

You could win a PAL copy of NiGHTS or much more interesting (but less playable) stuff, such as a glow-in-the-dark sticker sheet, a Japanese promotional poster, or a two-track soundtrack sampler which apparently was never made available outside of Sega of Europe! We hope you can fulfill your dreams of having stuff with pictures of NiGHTS on it.

If you're one of the cool kids that visits Wii Fanboy often, you probably know that we love bargains. Even more so, we love sharing them with you. We thought we'd tell you, then, that aside from Circuit City having some sweet deals this week, GameFly is also looking to take money out of our pockets.

From today to the 19th, GameFly is having a storewide sale, which means cheap games galore. The catch is that they're used, but that's not a big deterrent since the game conditions are usually tip-top.

Some highlights include:

• Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law -- $14.99
• NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams -- $17.99
• Battalion Wars 2 -- $27.99
• Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles -- $29.99
• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption -- $29.99

We also found some other nice sales over there, so it's worth checking them out if you're craving a new (yet used) Wii game.

For an indeterminate period, Gamefly has marked the price of used copies of NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams down to $22.99. If you were ever curious about trying out Sega's flying adventure, now seems like as good a time as any!

Unlike the sticker-marred, printed-instructions-bundled nightmare of buying rentals from Blockbuster or a local video store (as someone who spent hours at a previous job cleaning rental sticker residue off of NES cartridges: thanks, local video stores) buying from Gamefly is surprisingly okay. You get the original case and instructions in perfect condition, since Gamefly files them away immediately upon receiving their copies, and the discs are guaranteed.

The thrifty kids at Cheap Ass Gamers have compiled a list of Wii games currently on sale at Amazon, digging up almost 40 different deals. Of course, most of them are junk -- pet sim shovelware and titles based on movie licenses -- but there are a few marked down that you'll likely find interest in:

• Alien Syndrome - $19.99 ($29.99)
• Battalion Wars 2 - $23.31 ($49.99), read our review
  
• Bust A Move Bash - $29.99 ($39.99)
• Nights: Journey of Dreams - $29.99 ($49.99)
• Nitrobike - $19.99 ($29.99)
• No More Heroes - $33.99 ($49.99), read our review
  
• Soul Calibur: Legends - $18.90 ($39.99)
• Sonic and the Secret Rings - $20.99 ($29.99)

We can't guarantee how long these bargains will last, so jump on them now while you can, or you'll end up having to settle for Chicken Shoot. Bring your cart past the post break for the full tally of discounted games.

According to Wiiz, Sega has officially dropped the European MSRP of NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams to €30. We haven't found the statement from Sega, but Amazon.fr reflects this price. The UK price has also fallen to around £30, but, of course, while these amounts look the same, they represent different costs. To put it bluntly, the price is still way out of hand for the UK. A Freeloader and an American copy of NiGHTS would come out to the same price, plus you'd have a Freeloader.

This follows a similar price drop last week in the U.S. So even though the prices are still different across regions, they're all lower within those regions than they were before.

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams was one of the most important Wii games of 2007 -- for Sega nerds. For most gamers, it was "that game about the jester thing or whatever, right? I think I saw it on the shelf when I went to buy Super Mario Galaxy." Even with the prestige that comes with being the continuation of a beloved classic, many Wii platform-game fans were spending their money elsewhere last holiday season, and may have missed out on NiGHTS. Now might be the time to pick it up!

Gamestop has just lightened the game's price by $20, putting it at a very reasonable $29.99. You can buy the game and start saving up for some NiGHTS stuff!