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Nintendo officially announces PokePark Wii

by JC Fletcher { Oct 15th 2009 at 10:05AM }

Only a week after everyone found out about Nintendo's PokePark Wii: Pikachu's Big Adventure, Nintendo has revealed the game, which will be released in Japan on December 5 for ¥4,800 ($53). Though it's certainly not the console debut that fans really want, this happens to be the first console Pokémon game developed by Creatures Inc., creators of the main handheld series.

The game involves Pikachu competing and cooperating with other Pokemans in a sort of theme park through, according to Andriasang, "tag, battle, and quiz mini-games." The game emphasizes Pikachu's interactions with his new friends and includes a camera mode to allow you to photograph the Pokémon you meet.

Gallery: PokePark Wii: Pikachu's Big Adventure

This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Pokemon on TV

by David Hinkle { Oct 5th 2009 at 2:17PM }

Like this week's NintendoWare Weekly update, this week's Nintendo Channel goodies are a bit on the light side. Sure, there's the launch video for Dead Space Extraction and the new Nintendo Week show, but the real prize is the new TV spot for Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky.

For the rest of this week's content, head past the break.

Continued →

Get ready to Pokemon Rumble at PAX

by JC Fletcher { Sep 3rd 2009 at 11:24AM }

In June, Nintendo released a Pokemon game in Japan that even those of us well over catchin' em all might look at with interest: Melee! Pokemon Scramble; a four-player brawler starring robotic Pokemon. Nintendo just announced that it's coming to North America -- we know, shocking that a game in Nintendo's most popular franchise would be released outside of Japan -- and will be shown off for the first time at the Penny Arcade Expo, or as some fans may now term it, the Pokemon Arcade Expo. The Japanese trailer is above.

In addition to the newly-announced Pokemon Rumble, attendees will get a chance to play New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks and other Nintendo titles.

'Pokemon World Championships 2009' DSi boasts a winning design

by David Hinkle { Aug 27th 2009 at 1:15PM }

You're looking at a limited edition Pokemon World Championships 2009 DSi. Given out by Nintendo as a prize at select events, only a handful of folks have ever been able to obtain one of these. The image above serves as a depressing reminder that, alas, we are not among those people. We hate them.

Gallery: The best (and worst) handheld mods

[Via Go Nintendo]

Nintendo announces Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver for US

by David Hinkle { Aug 14th 2009 at 2:29PM }

Turn those baseball caps backwards and clear you calendars, because Nintendo's latest Pokemon titles, Pokemon HeartGold and Pokemon SoulSilver, are set to invade North America during spring of next year. The games release in Japan next month and take players back to the Johto region, recreating the classic Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver games on the Game Boy Color. The press release made no mention of the walking functionality, which kind of bums us out. What, you didn't think we would actually beef up our Pokemon by playing the game, did you?

Gallery: Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver (DS)

Joyswag: Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia [update]

by David Hinkle { Aug 13th 2009 at 12:15PM }

Update: Contest has come to a close, folks! Keep an eye on your inbox to see if you won!

It's Joyswag time again, folks! If you've missed out on the latest Pokemon Ranger game then this is the post for you, because we've got one copy of Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia ($30) to unload. Hit up the convenient bullet points below for how to enter and best of luck to you all!

Leave a comment telling us which Pokemon is your favorite
You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
Limit 1 entry per person
This entry period ends at 12:00PM ET on Wednesday, August 19

At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia ($30 ARV)

For a list of complete rules, click here

Gallery: Pokemon Ranger 2

Downloadable Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games get physical Club Nintendo items

by JC Fletcher { Jul 31st 2009 at 4:40PM }

A few lucky Japanese WiiWare shoppers who pick up the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games next week will get limited-edition gifts from Club Nintendo. Fifty people who buy at least two of the three WiiWare roguelikes will get this pop-up book thing, which is, honestly, not that exciting of a pop-up. It's basically a paper dome. Two hundred people who purchase just one of the games will randomly be drawn to win a Wiimote/DS strap featuring artwork from the game they purchased.

Meanwhile, Nintendo of America has indicated no plans to release the games, and it won't indicate any such plans until they magically appear on the Wii Shop. Don't expect any promotions like this, or, really, any promotion at all.

Explore the latest Pokemon Mystery Dungeon this October

by JC Fletcher { Jul 29th 2009 at 12:44PM }

Pokémon addicts starting to get antsy about when they'll be able to satisfy their pathological need to purchase new Pokémon games just need to hold out for a few more months. Nintendo has announced an October 12 release date for the latest in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, Explorers of Sky, in North America.

Explorers of Sky is an updated version of Explorers of Time and Darkness, with new starter critters and new "Special Episode" missions that reveal more about the Pokémon characters in the game. Explorers of Sky also includes new wireless features, including the ability to share a "demo dungeon" and trade items locally.

Gallery: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky (DS)

Latest Pokemon movie sets Guinness World Record

by David Hinkle { Jul 22nd 2009 at 2:45PM }

Japan recently received its 12th Pokémon animated feature in Arceus: To The Conquering of Space-Time. Even before its July 18 release, the film showed that the power of Pokemans is still strong in Japan by shattering records.

The Escapist reports that pre-sales of tickets were at insane levels, with 2,384,198 eager movie-goers signing up, enough to net it a Guinness World Record for most advanced sales of an animated feature. Heck, not even that many people bought Pokémon Platinum when it released!

Top brands of 2008 owned by Nintendo, EA, Activision, and not Sony

by JC Fletcher { Jun 30th 2009 at 9:00PM }

Wedbush Morgan Securities' 2009 industry report includes a list of the top thirty brands of 2008. The report notes that of the companies whose brands appear on the list, Nintendo, EA, and Activision were the only three with more than one brand to generate over $100 million at retail in the US last year.

And boy, did they. The top brand of the year, Guitar Hero -- perhaps you've heard of it -- was responsible for $992 million in US sales in 2008. The next two brands, Mario Bros. and Rock Band, generated $761 million and $662 million, respectively.

One company is notably absent from the top brands list: "Most strikingly," the report reads, "Sony had no top 30 brands for the third year in a row." Microsoft had two brands on the list (Gears of War and Fable) and Nintendo had four (Mario Bros., Wii Fit, Wii Play, and Pokémon). See the list of brands after the break.

Continued →

Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver hitting Japan Sept. 12

by Griffin McElroy { Jun 26th 2009 at 12:30PM }

Yes, the once-vague "fall" launch window for the pedometer-infused pokéremakes, Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver, has evolved into a much more specific Japanese release date of September 12. The game will be catchable if you've got 4,980 yen ($50) to spare, which seems an exorbitant price, but is actually the standard cost of Pokémon titles in Japan, thanks to that completely unwarranted Adorability Tax.

North America hasn't gotten a release date or price for the remakes -- probably because Nintendo has yet to formally announce the games in the States -- but we'll let you know when it finally does. You'll know which post contains this announcement, because it'll be written in bold all-caps to reflect our uncontrollable excitement.

Rumor: McDonalds reveals Pokemon Mystery Dungeon on WiiWare

by JC Fletcher { Jun 16th 2009 at 4:00PM }

According to what has been identified as a pamphlet from a McDonalds location in Japan, Nintendo is preparing to launch three new Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games -- on WiiWare.

A detail from the pamphlet shows an announcement of the WiiWare release of the three games, along with logos for Mystery Dungeon games called Susume! Hono no Boukendan, Ikuzo! Arashi no Boukendan, and Mezase! Hikari no Boukendan, which translate to Advance! Fire Adventure Team, Go! Storm Adventure Team, and Aim! Light Adventure Group!, respectively.

Since we don't even know if the pamphlet, presumably distributed as a promotion for the Mac de DS program, is real, obviously we don't have any more details about the games, like whether Mystery Dungeon series creator Chunsoft is creating them or if they are all variants of the same base game.

Pokemon Gold/Silver remakes let you train Pokemon by walking

by JC Fletcher { Jun 8th 2009 at 9:30AM }

Turns out that the same technology used in Personal Trainer: Walking to train you will also help you train Pokemans in Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver. According to Andriasang, the Pokémon Sunday TV show revealed a new pedometer device used in the game, called the "Poké Walker," that resembles a cross between a Pokeball and the Pokémon Mini handheld. For some reason, Nintendo decided to make another wireless pedometer peripheral for the DS rather than allowing people to use the existing one.

The device allows you to build one Pokémon's experience and personal affinity simply by walking. In addition, the Poké Walker generates "watts," which can be used to catch wild creatures and find tools inside the Poké Walker world to send back to the full game.

Check out the first screens of the remakes in our gallery, as you come to the terrifying realization that Nintendo didn't mention this game at all at E3.

Gallery: Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver (DS)

Four-player Pokemon fighting on Japanese WiiWare June 16

by JC Fletcher { Jun 6th 2009 at 1:30PM }

While we were off doing whatever, Nintendo announced a new Pokémon game for WiiWare in Japan. Melee! Pokémon Scramble is developed by the same company (Ambrella) as My Pokémon Ranch, but is combat-based instead of standing-around-based. In fact, it may be the most actiony Pokémon game yet!

The player controls a remote-controlled robot Pokémon, building strength by fighting Pokémon in the wild, in anticipation of a big tournament. Gameplay is real-time, like a Zelda or Ys-type action RPG. And, of course, four players can face off in the game's Battle Royale arena mode.

Melee! Pokémon Scramble will be out in Japan on June 16. No release dates have been announced outside of Japan, but Nintendo won't deprive the rest of the world of its biggest brand.

[Via Nintendo Life]

Nintendo files US trademarks for Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver [update]

by David Hinkle { May 12th 2009 at 3:40PM }

Update: We here at Joystiq are not perfect, and sometimes we're fooled. Sad to say, this has been one of those times, as some of the details you see around the net regarding Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver are false. Our good friend Serebii pointed this out to us, and we have removed the false information from this post. We apologize for the error, and are baking you a fresh batch of cookies right now to make up for it.

When Nintendo announced Pokémon Gold Heart and Soul Silver remakes, it was only a few days after that we caught a glimpse of some gameplay. Of course, the gameplay video didn't reveal anything on the game other than the ability to walk around, but we know trainers are still getting pumped for the remakes. Well, if you live in North America, prepare to be pumped out of your mind.

Nintendo is planning to bring both Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver your way, as some US trademarks Nintendo filed (courtesy of Siliconera) show. Sure, you probably had little doubt in your mind, considering how much Nintendo loves money, but we just thought you would like to know. Both Pokemon Heart Gold and Pokemon Soul Silver are listed, so turn your cap backwards and get ready to catch 'em all ... at an unconfirmed later date.