The internet speculation switchboard lit up this weekend when a print ad for a trio of new Nintendo DS titles -- Disgaea DS, Rhapsody, and A Witch's Tale -- from NIS America in the August issue of Nintendo Power was found to show Nintendo's touchable handheld with noticeably wider screens. Some might even call these widescreens. But was this a simple Photoshop snafu, or an unintentional peek at Nintendo's E3 plot?
With Nintendo brushing aside the supposed leak as "purely rumour and speculation," we followed up with NIS America, the proverbial horse's mouth. "We placed screenshots on a DS backing to emphasize the platform, and edited them for effect," explained NISA marketing swami, Nao Zook. "These games are specifically for the current Nintendo DS, and as far as we know, there is no 'widescreen DS' in the works." She offered apologies for any confusion or elevated hopes the ad might have caused, adding, "we also agree that a widescreen DS would be really cool." We agree, almost as cool as being asked to purchase Nintendo's portable yet again ...
We know that Mega Man 9 is all-new and stuff, but after seeing a quick video of its gameplay (found after the break), we're compelled to dig up our copy of Mega Man Anniversary Collection for a nostalgia fix this evening.
GoNintendo discovered the first footage, which definitely has the look and sound of a classic Mega Man game from the '80s (minus slowdown and flicker). Details on the Blue Bomber's return are slowly starting to emerge, but we're hoping to learn a lot more about this WiiWare title soon.
Nintendo's love affair with the Neo Geo continues this week, giving players who have not yet shelled out for one of SNK's numerous other arcade collections yet another outlet to spend their hard-earned dollars, or rather, points.
King of the Monsters (Neo Geo, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points): While already available on the Wii already as part of SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1, it's good to know that despite all of the problems in the world, there are still some disagreements between a giant lizard and an overgrown beetle than can be settled as part of a midtown battle royal. SNK's arcade original King of the Monsters allows players to choose from six different giant creatures and then grapple with the others in order to decide the fate of the city, as long as that fate ends in total devastation.
Scheduled to be released later this month in Japan, Wario Land Shake has been largely invisible ... until now. A little too dramatic there? Fair enough, but we're excited is all. While Mario and his fancy blue overalls snubs his mustachioed nose at 2D console games nowadays (even on a handheld, it's 2.5G or bust for Mario), there are still believers in the cause. Yes, dear reader, that's a plural believers; it's not just Castlevania creator Koji Igarashi who still thinks 2D platform gaming is "somewhat alive".
Now you can add Nintendo's rascally un-mascot Wario to that list as well, as evidenced in these videos from his latest console outing. Above you'll find the animated intro (don't worry, your inability to understand Japanese shouldn't interrupt your ability to follow along) and after the break, you'll find the first gameplay footage, in all it's 2D, sprite-based glory.
Our first thought upon seeing this very cool hack was "that's awesome." Our second thought was "do you have to blow on it to make it work?"
BenHeck.com forum member "darkeru" created this inventive new take on a home made NES portable, which manages to squeeze all of the 8-bit dynamo's guts into a 4.1" by 5.5" space ... with a backlit LCD display. We just had a third thought: what happens when you connect it to this portable NES?
The inventiveness of the homebrew scene never ceases to amaze us. Take for instance the above video. What you see in it is, in fact, GoldenEye 007 for Nintendo 64 running on a Wii with the "Homebrew Channel" installed.
The poster of the video states that he was able to get the game ROM working with the emulator used by the Virtual Console version of Sin & Punishment. He gives no details on how he managed the feat, mentioning only that the game works "for the most part" with occasional slowdown and a broken borked save system.
Hopefully Nintendo will see this video and, rather than simply order it pulled offline, realize just how much people really want a proper Virtual Console release of the game.
Sure, it's sad to see all those beautiful, Special Edition DS models in Japan never reach US or European soil. Fortunately for those with a bottomless wallet, the DS is region-free. If you're the kind to covet DS units like Pokemon, here's a collection of some of the best colors and designs from around the world.
Amazon's gold box deal of the day is Super Smash Bros. Brawl for $25.99, a price that makes not owning the Wii title inexcusable. What are you waiting for? Stop reading this and go buy it.
For the millions that already own the title and are still reading, Amazon's eight lightning deals are all Nintendo-related, with a new deal every two hours starting at 9:00 AM ET. Here are the clues for each (all times ET):
9:00 AM: "Set out on a wild and colorful quest to rescue kids investigate an ominous island." (Yoshi's Island DS)
11:00 AM: "Set sail for waters unknown." (Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass)
1:00 PM: "Defy gravity across wild alien terrain."
3:00 PM: "Run, jump, and stomp your way through unimaginable challenges."
5:00 PM: "Race and battle your friends all over the world."
7:00 PM: "Awaken your hero and animal within."
9:00 PM: "Beat Bowser in the race to the crystals."
11:00 PM: "Travel to Sinnoh, complete your Pokédex, and become Champion."
Remember, each deal only lasts two hours (or until supplies are exhausted), so you'll have to act fast. As of this writing, you've only got 90 minutes left to purchase Yoshi's Island DS at 33% off.
If you've been waiting for someone to hold your hand through the Wii homebrew process, the folks at WiiHD have created the perfect guide for you, complete with step-by-step instructions, a downloadable starter kit with everything you need, and a video (embedded after the break) that shows you the process from installation, all the way to a trial version of Quake I. It doesn't get much easier than this.
Video games are not always just about financial muscle and suffering the slings and arrows of fanboy-fueled drama. Sometimes, just sometimes, they're about making the world a better place. Such is the case today, as Nintendo has partnered with Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation to place Wii kiosks featuring such games as Super Mario Galaxy and Wii Sports in hospitals across both the US and Canada to help lift the spirits of seriously ill kids.
The move echoes a similar effort by Microsoft last month, which saw the company link up with NHL vet Pat LaFontaine's foundation Companions in Courage to bring hundreds of Xbox 360 kiosks to children's hospitals in the US. According to a statement, Nintendo plans to manufacture some 1,250 new Fun Center kiosks as part of the partnership, with the charity hoping to have around 500 of these in hospitals by the end of 2008. The first pair of Fun Centers will be donated later today to the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles during what Nintendo describes as a Super Mario Galaxy-themed launch event, while Mario will also be on hand, no doubt to discourage Bowser from crashing the party.
Though we usually award it to a particularly irascible commenter, the latest Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award simply cannot be pried from the clutches of one Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Donkey Kong, Mario, Zelda and just about half of your best childhood memories.
Tucked inside Wired's 15th Anniversary retrospective, a quick interview with the renowned developer reveals his secret to maintaining "quality control" in a company as large as Nintendo. "I'm always instructing my game designers on the history of the characters and worlds we've created," says Miyamoto. "Often we're in development and I'll say, 'Oh, this looks like a Sega game. We need to make it look more like Mario.'"
Oh my. Not to worry, Sega, at least Mr. Miyamoto knows about your games. He's never even heard of Ratchet & Whatshisface.
Nintendo Wii Fanboy's code monkey extraordinaire, Mike Sylvester, stuns us again. His latest Revolutionary column is a step-by-step process of turning the Wii balance board and Wii wheel into a racing simulator, with the aid of GlovePIE and a PC version of Need for Speed ProStreet. Feel free to try this at home.
Nintendo Europe senior marketing director Laurent Fischer has pulled an about-face. His comments last week hurt the feelings of "geeky" Wii owners seeking more space for their WiiWare and Virtual Console downloads. Fischer now tells GamesIndustry.biz that the console maker is "perfectly aware of the issue" and is "working on a solution" that won't involve any add-on hardware (i.e. a hard disk or USB device).
Not being privvy to every last internal working of the Wii, we can only speculate that Nintendo is concocting a method – perhaps via a firmware update – for allowing downloaded games to be played directly from an SD card (much like we'd hoped for when the console first went on sale). There may be a chance this "solution" gets revealed at E3, depending on just how long Nintendo's tech heads (dare we say geeks?) have been working on it.
Marc Franklin, director of public relations at Nintendo, tells GamePro that "core gamers" will be interested in what the company has in store for E3. Although Franklin mentions Mario Super Sluggers (we can sense Europe going into fever pitch!), he gives very little detail on what else the company has planned.
There's been plenty of speculation about what Nintendo may reveal, but Franklin's comments come as Nintendo's more casual oriented Wii Fit storms the sales charts and a certain executive takes a jab at the Nintendo faithful. Franklin concludes that third-party publishers are rolling out more titles as they realize the "Wii is the current platform of choice in this generation." True, but these rollouts don't always equal payoffs. We're looking at you, Boom Blox.
We agree with Design Milk: we wish these Nintendo wall decals were around when we were younger. Then again, that won't stop us. (Thanks, Vlad.) Check out the highlights for this weekend:
The internet speculation switchboard lit up this weekend when a print ad for a trio of new Nintendo DS titles -- Disgaea DS, Rhapsody, and A Witch's Tale -- from NIS America in the August issue of Nintendo Power was found to show Nintendo's touchable handheld with noticeably wider screens. Some might even call these widescreens. But was this a simple Photoshop snafu, or an unintentional peek at Nintendo's E3 plot?
