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Rabbids to return to DS, may even get noticed

by Chris Greenhough { May 28th 2008 at 8:00PM }

Despite the fact that the first two games appeared on the DS, the Rayman Raving Rabbids series has always been more closely associated with the Wii, either because the original was a Wii launch game, or because the DS iterations are pretty mediocre.

Now, the involvement of the Balance Board is threatening to relegate the DS edition of Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party to an even more insignificant footnote, but we hope the DS game stands on its own. The Rabbids are liked by pretty much everybody we know, and deserve a worthy handheld game. Protip though, Ubisoft: it's probably best to avoid this kind of publicity.

[Via press release]

Raving Rabbids TV Party, for use with balance board, coming this winter

by Ross Miller { May 28th 2008 at 1:15PM }

Click to embiggen ... Daaaah!

Those wascally wabbits are back. Ubisoft has announced Raving Rabbids TV Party, due out this holiday season for the Nintendo Wii and DS. Said the press release, "The Rabbids plan to invade televisions worldwide, providing players with a variety of games and comedic exploits spoofing TV shows, pop culture and even advertisements."

As was hinted in a recent video (embedded after the break), TV Party will make use of the Wii balance board. Early screenshots indicate the balance board is not required for every game, but will involve sitting on the board and shaking your butt. Said CEO Yves Guillemot, "The inclusion of the Wii Balance Board into the game was a huge source of inspiration for our development team and I guarantee you will see the Wii Balance Board used in ways that will be surprisingly unexpected!" More details are to come at this year's E3.

Gallery: Raving Rabbids TV Party (Wii)

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Get teased about Rayman Raving Rabbids 3

by David Hinkle { May 26th 2008 at 2:00PM }

We don't have to tell you how charmingly insane those little rabbids are. Even when it comes to Wii Fit, they just have to find their own delightfully ridiculous way of doing things. Well, it would seem, based on the teaser trailer above, that you can look forward to a third installment in the Rayman Raving Rabbids franchise. Hard to believe, we know, seeing as how a lot of you bought the previous titles in the franchise.

Who's excited about a new Rayman Raving Rabbids game? Anything you'd like to change in the new game that you weren't all that happy about in the last two games?

Another Week in Europe

by Chris Greenhough { May 24th 2008 at 4:30PM }

Grand Theft Auto IV continues to show up the competition across Europe this week, with either the PS3 or Xbox 360 edition claiming top spot everywhere. Wii pair Wii Fit and Game Night favorite Mario Kart Wii are close behind in most places (because we're optimists, we're now going to consider third as the new first), though yours truly would love to know where anybody is finding Mario Kart in the UK -- I hit the high street to find a copy for a friend a few days back, with zero success.

Further down the charts, Boom Blox made (what could almost be described as) an impact in its second week on sale, soaring from outside the Top 40 to 19th in the UK, while Super Mario Galaxy and Guitar Hero III rejoined the top ten in Holland and Sweden respectively. No Irish charts this week, we're afraid, but here's a hunch we had: Grand Theft Auto IV probably sold a lot.

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New DS demos are the old DS demos

by David Hinkle { May 19th 2008 at 2:00PM }

When we turned on our Wii earlier to check and see if the recent habit of providing us with new DS demos every week would continue, we stumbled upon something very odd. You see, this week's new DS demos are, in fact, the first set of DS demos that released alongside the Nintendo Channel. Just now, they don't have an expiration date attached to them.

For those of you with a bad memory (or no desire to click links), the list of demos available has been placed past the break.

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Another Week in Europe

by Chris Greenhough { May 17th 2008 at 4:00PM }

Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii continue to fly the flag for the Wii in Europe, with the former appearing in every European top ten this week. Mario & Sonic also put in a characteristically strong performance, while Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (ninth in the UK) and Mario Party 8 (tenth in Holland) seem to be enjoying a second burst of shelf life after their release last year.

But heck, you can tell all that simply by inspecting the charts after the post break. What you probably won't remember is that Boom Blox launched in Europe this week, yet never threatened any of Europe's top tens/twenties/forties; looks like this Spielbergian gem has been given the same frosty reception by consumers that it experienced in the U.S. Weaksauce (as my American colleagues might say)! It's sadly ironic, really -- EA's best game for donkey's years, and it's not even charted.

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ESRB lists potential upcoming PS1 downloads

by Andrew Yoon { May 2nd 2008 at 2:30PM }

Reader Matt G. sent in a tip, detailing a number of PS1 titles rated by the ESRB that have yet to be released on PSP/PS3. These downloadable classics should arrive on the PSN some time in the future -- but when?

Wipeout XL (E)
Jet Moto 3 (E)
Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo (E)
Buster Bros. Collection (E)
Street Fighter Alpha (T) -- previously discovered, not released
Rayman (E)
Castlevania Chronicles (T) -- previously discovered, not released

SCEA has been slow to make PS1 classics available on the PS Store. We're eagerly awaiting a version of Puzzle Fighter we can take on the go.

ESRB lists potential upcoming PS1 downloads

by Andrew Yoon { May 2nd 2008 at 2:30PM }

Wipeout XL (E)
Jet Moto 3 (E)
Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo (E)
Buster Bros. Collection (E)
Street Fighter Alpha (T) -- previously discovered, not released
Rayman (E)
Castlevania Chronicles (T) -- previously discovered, not released

SCEA has been slow to make PS1 classics available on the PS Store. We're eagerly awaiting a version of Puzzle Fighter we can take on the go.

The rabbids show us how to use the Balance Board

by Candace Savino { Apr 29th 2008 at 5:00PM }

Love 'em or hate 'em, Ubisoft's rabbids are quite the characters. From this little teaser video that the company sent to IGN, it's also not hard to believe that the bunny-like critters will soon be back on the Wii for Rayman Raving Rabbids 3. Whether the unconfirmed (but likely) game will use the Balance Board, or whether the rabbids are just spoofing Wii Fit remains to be seen.

We'd guess that there's a high possibility for inclusion of the Balance Board in the next RRR iteration. Since the rabbid titles are generally full of minigames, the Balance Board will add a lot more possibilities in that regard. As IGN points out, Reggie also said that there were ten games using the board currently in development.

We're sure it won't be very long before all is revealed, though, so stay tuned.

[Via NeoGAF]

Today's most 'dah' holiday video: a Raving Rabbids Christmas

by Ross Miller { Dec 25th 2007 at 1:00AM }

It's been about 363 days since we last highlighted this video, but it's Christmas and we feel it's best to be festive, and Michel Ancel's Raving Rabbids are terrific way to celebrate the holidays. It's time to get into the egg nog with the most eloquent lagomorphs around.

For the holiday lovers out there, here's our cheap gift to you. Enjoy the video after the break.

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Bunny girls sell Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 in Japan

by Chris Greenhough { Dec 6th 2007 at 10:30PM }

Humor has played a big role in Ubisoft's marketing of Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, but sex? Erm ... not so much. It's a different story in Japan, however. There, models dressed in midriff-baring outfits and bunny ears are recruited to sell the game to the public in shopping malls.

Tottering on their high heels, they watch over a (admittedly very impressive) kiosk dedicated to Ubi's game, complete with Wii demo units, and tons of awesome Rabbids merchandise, including postcards, hats, and some too-cool-for-words Rabbids tote bags that WE MUST OWN.

Plunge(r) past the break for more snaps.

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Seizure brought on by DS game leads to banning crusade

by Candace Savino { Dec 6th 2007 at 8:00PM }

After a boy in the UK fell into an epileptic fit from playing Rayman Raving Rabbids on the DS, his mother, Gaye Herford, protested to Parliament that there should be more vigorous safety testing for video games. Should her campaign be successful, any games that could potentially cause seizures will be banned in the UK and game developers will have to adhere to stricter safety standards. Currently, thirty-five Members of Parliament stand behind the proposal.

Ubisoft (the makers of Rabbids) responded by saying that the company already pre-screened Rabbids DS for the potential to cause epileptic fits, and the testing showed that the game was unlikely to do so. Managing director of Ubisoft UK Robert Cooper added, however, that the company has made the decision to now test all in-house games prior to release.

[Via Pocket Gamer]

Rabbids know how to play

by David Hinkle { Nov 14th 2007 at 2:25PM }

The latest trailer for Rayman: Raving Rabbids 2 is pretty much what we look for in any game trailer. It has lots of gameplay footage, some bit of humor and cheating rabbits. Oh, how we love those cheating rabbits. And, the minigames look fun, too.

Who's going to pick this up?

Spooftastic Raving Rabbids art

by Chris Greenhough { Nov 12th 2007 at 2:15PM }

Some would argue that Far Cry Vengeance was beyond help, though we maintain to this day that the Ubiport would have been vastly improved with added Rabbids. Clearly, some swashbuckling young designer at Ubisoft shares our thoughts on this crucial issue.

The image above is one of nine spoofs to appear recently on the game's official site, all of which feature Rabbids invading a variety of Ubi's more well-known games. Sadly, none of them come in wallpaper size, which is precisely what these would be ideal for. Oh well.

Hop past the break for images of "Bunny Steel," "Bunnies' Creed," and "Rainbow Six Bunnies."

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Wii releases for the week of November 12th

by David Hinkle { Nov 12th 2007 at 10:08AM }

Wow, that's a lot of games releasing this week. And they all look like they're going to be good games, as well. Not to mention that we finally get our hands on Super Mario Galaxy, which we've been been anxiously awaiting. For all of you who lucked out at your local Best Buy, we're glad to say we're finally joining the ranks of those who've been enjoying the game.

This week's releases are: