Joystiq

Remember that character? Smash Bros. Rejects

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-05-17T09:22:00+00:00

It's quite surprising that a new Super Smash Bros. doesn't come out twice a year, considering how much money Nintendo could make off the franchise (not that the company needs the cash). However, as the video above shows, eventually Smash Bros. would start scraping the bottom of the nostalgia barrel for characters.

Some forgettable characters are mentioned like Bayou Billy and the Noid ... actually, the Noid was awesome! Anyway, we actually wouldn't mind seeing one of the Battletoads in a Super Smash Bros. game. Can you think of any characters who'd be perfect for Super Smash Bros. Rejects? Dig deep into the recesses of your memory and check the periphery for games you barely remember.

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Counting Rupees: The WiiCube

Jeff Engel — 2008-04-24T20:25:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo Wii, Business

Each week Jeff Engel and Geoff Brooks contribute Counting Rupees, a column on the business behind gaming:

In my last column I suggested that, if Microsoft is to make a Wii-like controller, it should still continue to focus on the "traditional" types of games that have so far made the 360 a success, because Nintendo had already basically wrapped up the "casual" crowd. I also mentioned that the only Wii games that are apparently selling are Nintendo games and some casual games. And with that in mind, the New York Times published an article on Monday detailing that, while the Wii hardware is selling well, even seemingly popular Wii software still has some trouble continuing to sell to the Wii audience.

A somewhat surprising tidbit from the article is that, while Nintendo broke records selling more than 1.4 million copies in its first week with Super Smash Bros., its sales dropped a precipitous 90% after just 4 weeks. At that point, the sales of the game were apparently bad enough that retailers began to bundle the game with the Wii system in order to sell through their inventory. What this data suggests is that, while Nintendo may be expanding the audience that it can sell the Wii to with casual games like Wii Sports, it's failing to expand that same audience into other franchises that may represent more traditional genres. The Wii isn't just selling Nintendo-developed games and some casual games to a big audience; the audience seems almost strictly divided into casual, low-attach-rate gamers, happy with Wii Sports and picking up the occasional Wii Play and whatnot, and Nintendo loyalists who have probably played Nintendo games since the NES days. The Nintendo loyalists snapped up Super Smash Bros. instantly, and once all of those gamers had it, sales dried up soon after, seemingly failing to really expand through word of mouth into the casual crowd.

At the same time, well-reviewed 3rd-party games, like Zack & Wiki and No More Heroes, typically perform poorly on the system. This makes perfect sense considering the schema of Wii owners that we're assuming, as these games don't fit into either the casual gamer or Nintendo loyalist profile. The exception to these rules are well-established franchises, like Resident Evil or Guitar Hero, as even Nintendo loyalists (and some casual gamers) know about these and probably have played them on other systems, whether theirs or a friend's.

Is this starting to sound familiar to anyone else?

Here's a hint:

Best-selling Gamecube Software (Source: Wikipedia)

1. Super Smash Bros. Melee (7.09 million)
2. Super Mario Sunshine (5.5 million)
3. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (4.67 million)
4. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (3.07 million)
5. Luigi's Mansion (2.53 million)
6. Animal Crossing (2.32 million)
7. Mario Party 4 (2 million)
8. Metroid Prime (2 million)
9. Mario Party 7 (1.86 million)
10. Pokemon Colosseum (1.86 million approximately)

Best-selling Wii Software (Source: Wikipedia)

1. Wii Sports (17.85 million)
2. Wii Play (9.23 million)
3. Super Mario Galaxy (5.19 million)
4. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (4.463 million)
5. Mario Party 8 (4.35 million)
6. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (4.3 million)
7. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (3.4 million)
8. Super Paper Mario (2.16 million)
9. Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (2 million)
10. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (2 million)

For as much as Nintendo was touting its "Blue Ocean" strategy for the Wii, it sure doesn't look like much has changed. Of the Gamecube top sellers, all ten were published by Nintendo. Of the top-selling Wii-games, eight are Nintendo published, one is both arguably a Nintendo game and a "franchise" game (Mario & Sonic, since it includes the two company mascots), and the other is a well-established franchise (Guitar Hero III). Granted, some of the Nintendo games are focused on this new "casual" crowd as well, but what this suggests is simply an augmentation of its Gamecube strategy and not necessarily a completely new direction as "Blue Ocean" would suggest.

"For as much as Nintendo was touting its "Blue Ocean" strategy for the Wii, it sure doesn't look like much has changed."

This isn't necessarily such a bad thing for Nintendo. After all, even through all the doom and gloom of the Gamecube, the company was still profitable. Like the Wii, the Gamecube always sold at a profit (or very close to it). With arguably the best development teams in the industry, Nintendo has cultivated an extremely loyal fanbase who anxiously await every one of their new releases. Since these games are Nintendo published as well, they reap the full reward of their sales as well. And, of course, the Wii hardware is selling at a much better overall rate than the Gamecube, meaning that Nintendo's installed base is bigger and allows for higher software sales. But, like the Gamecube, there are some troubling aspects of the strategy. Namely, it seems to alienate 3rd-party developers, and it makes the company dependent almost entirely on self-developed "hits" a few times a year.

What Nintendo must have realized after the Gamecube is that it could only produce so many of these traditional "Nintendo-loyalist" games per generation, and therefore limited the number of "hits" it could rely on during its run. Adding in "Casual Gamers" has allowed Nintendo to basically augment the number of "hits" they can produce, as the manufacturer can simply sell those games to a different, parallel audience. This would also suggest that Nintendo may not be served well by trying to blend games for consumption by both audiences, as it's trying to do with Mario Kart Wii. This could have the effect of actually alienating both of the major audiences that the Wii seems to be thriving with.

So what do we have? A machine that's selling the same games that sold on the Gamecube, as well as (mostly) Nintendo-developed casual games. Hardcore gamers may mock the Wii as simply "a Gamecube 1.5 with waggle", but the business strategy actually makes this seem like a fairly apt comparison. Say hello to the WiiCube.

As co-editors of A Link To The Future, Geoff and Jeff like to discuss, among many other topics, the business aspects of gaming. Game companies often make decisions that on their face appear baffling, or even infuriating, to many gamers. Yet when you think hard about them from the company's perspective, many other decisions are eminently sensible, or at least appeared to be so based on the conditions at the time those choices were made. Our goal with this column is to start a conversation about just those topics. While neither Geoff nor Jeff are employed in the game industry, they do have professional backgrounds that are relevant to the discussion. More to the point, they don't claim to have all the answers -- but this is a conversation worth having. You can reach them at

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Smash Bros. Brawl finally hits Europe June 27, WiiWare on May 20

Ross Miller — 2008-04-24T09:55:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo Wii, Fighting

It's about time. Nintendo Europe has released its second fiscal quarter release schedule and finally pinpointed a release date for Smash Bros. Brawl: Friday, June 27. By then, US gamers will have enjoyed the game for over three months, and Japanese gamers for six months. At least you got Mario Kart Wii first, right?

Nintendo also announced that WiiWare will launch May 20, just 8 days behind the US. The Nintendo Channel, which will allow you to download DS demos and game trailers, is coming May 30. Mark your calendars, Smash Bros. Brawl is now only 64 days away.

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Zero Punctuation beats up Smash Bros. Brawl ... you're surprised?

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-04-23T20:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Nintendo Wii, Action, Adventure, Fighting

This is the Zero Punctuation that'll make the Nintendo Defense Force mobilize and threaten nuclear annihilation. This week Yahtzee takes on one of the Wii's golden cows with his ~~review~~ wholesale bludgeoning of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For those just joining the ZP party, Yahtzee doesn't like Nintendo very much. If you love SSBB, great. If you don't like it, that's great too. Just sit back and enjoy the review for the spectacle in hatred it is.

Fanboys, prepare for masochism after the break with this week's NSFW review of Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

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Louisiana resident wins GameStop's Smash Bros. Brawl tournament

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-04-17T22:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Nintendo Wii

Remember when that little game nobody paid any attention to called Super Smash Bros. Brawl came out ... it was last month, remember? Well, GameStop helped promote the indie title by holding a tournament to support the game's fanbase and raise awareness. According to GameStop, the tournament had over 75,000 players and, following a couple semi-final rounds across the country, culminated last weekend in San Jose with Lee Martin of Houma, Lousiana, emerging victorious.

Martin (pictured above, he's the skinny one) walked away with a 37" LCD-TV, the entire Nintendo Wii software library, a Wii console, selected accessories and $5,000 in cash. Martin brawled against 60 other opponents at the store, district and regional levels on his way to winning the championship. No word yet which fat man pictured Martin got to take home as a trophy for winning.

Gallery: GameStop Smash Bros. Brawl Tournament

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March NPD: Wii, Smash Bros. on top, software sales surge

Kyle Orland — 2008-04-17T19:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo DS, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360

If this is how Nintendo does before the predicted Wii Fit-exacerbated shortages, we're a little scared for what the future will hold. As predicted, Nintendo dominated the March NPD sales report, selling over 720,000 Wiis and 698,000 DS units. The DS and Wii represented 58 percent of hardware sales for March, leapfrogging over one another to swap positions from the February numbers.

Further down the list, the Xbox 360 regained an extremely slight sales lead over the PS3, mainly due to a slight dip in Sony's system sales. We predict the systems will likely continue trading slight leads like a couple of fading horses in the home stretch of a marathon-length race, until one inevitably dies just short of the finish line. And speaking of dead horses, the perpetual PS2 finally showed some signs of weakening this month, plummeting down nearly 63 percent from February's sales.

- Wii: 721K 289K (40%)
- DS: 698K 110.4K (15.8%) [Update: Fixed typo in growth number]
- PSP: 297K 53.9K (18.1%)
- Xbox 360: 262K 7.4K (2.8%)
- PS3: 257K 23.8K (9.3%)
- PS2: 216K 135.8K (62.9%)

Software sales also met predictions in rising 57 percent to $1.7 billion for the month. Super Smash Bros. rode a wave of hype to a ridiculous 2.7 million sales -- that's more than last month's top ten combined. Shooters had a good month, with the Xbox 360's Rainbow 6 Vegas 2 and Army of Two rounding out the top three for the month (the PS3 version of Army of Two also showed up in tenth place) while Wii Play, Guitar Hero and Call of Duty 4 continued their seemingly endless runs on the top ten. The PSP also made a couple of relatively rare appearances in the top ten, with the God of War and Final Fantasy brands finally making people interested in UMDs again.

March Software
1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) - 2.7 million
2. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (Xbox 360) - 752.3K*
3. Army of Two (Xbox 360) - 606.1K
4. Wii Play w/ remote (Wii) - 409.8K
5. God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP) - 340.5K
6. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP) - 301.6K
7. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii) - 264.1K
8. Major League Baseball 2K8 (Xbox 360) - 237.1K
9. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) - 237K*
10. Army of Two (PS3) - 224.9K

* - Includes bundles and special editions

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Tiring of Smash Bros? Introducing Wii Fanboy's Stage of the Week

Ross Miller — 2008-04-16T16:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo Wii

Akin to X3F's awesome weekly Halo 3 Community Content, the gang at sister site Nintendo Wii Fanboy has introduced a new weekly feature, aptly titled Brawl Stage of the Week, where they'll be showcasing the best user-made Super Smash Bros. Brawl levels and offering them for download.

The inaugural edition highlights a rather self-flattering level: the Joystiq logo, as poorly interpreted by our very own James Ransom-Wiley. Suggestions for the feature? Think you can do a better Brawl stage? Of course you can! Submit your levels to smashsubs AAT nintendowiifanboy DAWT com ... we'll be waiting.

Gallery: Brawl Stage of the Week

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Ask Joystiq: hunting, singing, hating, saving

Scott Jon Siegel — 2008-03-28T12:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Features, Retro

This week on Ask Joystiq, we tackle Smash Bros Brawl's quirky saving preferences, universal disdain for Metroid II, the Smash Bros Brawl theme song, and the hunt for a classic Apple II platformer.

If you have any burning questions, unsolved gaming mysteries, or just a desire for musings from our knowledgeable cadre of writers, drop us a line at ask AAT joystiq DAWT com (and yes, we write it that way for a reason).

Q: If you haven't noticed by now, you cannot save your [Super Smash Bros. Brawl] game save to an SD card. However, you can save Vault data (Replays, Snapshots, and Custom Maps) to an external SD card. What gives?
-Andy

We asked Nintendo the same thing and got a predictable no comment, but we expect the answer has something to do with forcing players to unlock the game's myriad characters, stages, trophies and stickers on their own. This seems a little overbearing to us, though ... what does Nintendo care if we want to just unlock everything outright? This isn't like Xbox Live, where cheaters get an unfair advantage on the Gamerscore boards -- with SSBB, the only person a cheater is cheating is themselves.

Q: Why all the hate for Metroid II? I think it's pretty awesome IMO.
- M2Fan

We won't disagree with you there, M2Fan, but Metroid II: Return of Samus on Game Boy has always taken a lot of flak from the gaming community. A particularly seething review from 1UP's Jeremy Parish breaks down the hate quite nicely: stiff controls, repetitive background art, artificially constrained level design, and a soundtrack that pales in comparison to Hiroo "Hip" Tanaka's scores for the original NES title.

Of course, we feel that there's still a lot to love about Metroid II. The title introduced some of Samus's most integral weapons, such as the Spring Ball and Space Jump, and nobody can deny that the evolving Metroid designs were quite inspired. What's more, Metroid II brought us more Metroid (on a portable, no less!), and set up the story for the universally-acclaimed Super Metroid. It definitely holds a special place in our hearts.

Q: Back in 1995 or so, I used to play a platforming game on an old Apple computer, and I can't seem to track it down. You controlled a little pixelated man in a hat, collecting coins in an underground maze. The further down you went, the creepier the rooms got. The rooms had conveyor belts, rolling skulls and lots of ladders. Please help me find this missing piece of my childhood!
- Nostalgic Gamer

We had to put on our thinking caps for this one. If the Apple computer was "old" back in 1995, our best guess is that it was the Apple II, which had a number of classic platforming titles. Our first guess was Lode Runner, but the little man was lacking a hat, and there were no rolling skulls to be found. Next we stumbled upon Miner 2049er, which starred the hat-wearing Bounty Bob, but lacked the type of downward-moving gameplay described.

Luckily, we think we've found the game you're looking for: Montezuma's Revenge. The unfortunately-titled platformer has players collecting jewels through the labyrinthine maze of Montezuma's tomb. It's got ladders, conveyor belts and, yes, even skulls that roll. Enjoy.

Q. I really love the Smash Bros Brawl song at the beginning that sounds like an opera, but what are they singing?
- James G

The song is actually in Latin, the lyrics and translation you find out after beating Subspace Emissary. For a more accessible reference, Brawl Central has the lyrics broken down into Latin, Japanese, and English (both a translation and a reprinting of the game's interpretation). Of course, you could always just trust the helpful (and sometimes humorous) "translations" found elsewhere online.

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Reminder: Win a copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Ross Miller — 2008-03-24T10:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo Wii, Fighting, Joyswag

Just a friendly reminder, you have until this Wednesday, March 26 at 12:00pm ET to enter for a chance to win a copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Here is the link you're looking for, so go enter okay?

Gallery: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

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Joyswag: Win a copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Ross Miller — 2008-03-21T12:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Arcade, Nintendo Wii, Joyswag

[Update: Contest is over! We'll be notifying the winner shortly so be sure to check your inbox!]

If you're not one of the 1.4 million people to pick up Super Smash Bros. Brawl in the first week (or the countless others who bought it the week after that), here's your chance to win our copy of the game free of charge. This time around, Nintendo gave us Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog, but we can't help wonder who else could have fit in the Brawl universe. Mega Man? Sub-Zero? Q-Bert? An ASCII monster known only as "Zork?" (Hey, we can dream.)

To enter this giveaway, tell us a character you wanted to be playable in Brawl
You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec; désolé, mais il n'ya rien que nous puissions faire pour le moment).
Limit 1 entry per person per day. If you enter this giveaway more than once each calendar day you'll be automatically disqualified and forced to play internet solitaire!
This entry period ends in five days at 12:00pm ET Wednesday, March 26, 2008. We'll randomly select one winner at that time (please check your email!)
For complete rules you don't need an Assist Trophy for, click here

Gallery: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

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Today in Joystiq: March 17, 2008

Ross Miller — 2008-03-17T23:59:00+00:00

While not necessarily a 'mod' (more so just a paint job), we applaud Yuki Niwa's new Asus homage to Pit. In honor of Smash Bros. Brawl's sales announcement today, this seems fitting. Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Joystiq hands-on: Haze
PS Fanboy now recruiting
You could win a Mass Effect 360 from X3F

News
New games this week: Rainbow Six Vegas 2 edition
Spelunker and Super R-Type added to Virtual Console
EA names new president of global publishing, COO
Puzzle Quest getting XBLA expansion, fans asked to name it
New Forza 2 DLC live on March 19
The Darkness gets new, free multiplayer map
THQ stays on the off-road racing bandwagon with Baja
Call of Duty 4 gets 'Game of the Year' edition next month
GT5 Prologue hits 1 million Euro pre-orders
Mass. legislators considering 'games-as-porn' bill
Ubisoft reps: Haze is staying on PS3
Capcom explains lack of SF2HD beta on PSN
Survey favors Persian prince for Prince of Persia role
Doom, Assault Heroes become $5 XBLA Hits
Smash Bros. Brawl sells record-breaking 1.4 million first week in US
Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational invades Paris this June
Minnesota's game bill loses again on appeal
Epic blows up digital distribution with Steam
No snaking in Mario Kart Wii
WiiWare dev: XBLA is 'full of sh*t'
Raids in Mexico seize 28,800 pirated games
Famitsu best of 2007 list shows a lot of 360 love

Rumors & Speculation
Rumor: New tracks with Europe's Rock Band

Culture & Community
Massively celebrates St. Patrick's Day with MMOs
The Onion spoofs game violence

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Smash Bros. Brawl sells record-breaking 1.4 million first week in US

Ross Miller — 2008-03-17T17:31:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo Wii, Fighting

Nintendo's brawler Super Smash Bros. Brawl has smashed records with its US release. According to a press release from Nintendo of America, the game has sold over 1.4 million in the region, with 874,000 of those sales on its March 9 release date. That makes it the "fastest-selling video game in Nintendo of America's history."

Always one to play the numbers game, Nintendo claims to have sold "at a rate of more than 120 units per minute between launch and March 16." Assuming they mean the entirety of March 16 (i.e. the first eight days), that amounts to 8 days * 24 hours/day * 60 minutes/day * 120 units/minute = 1,382,400 units. Too bad they didn't make 130 units per minute. Oh well, better luck next time.

Gallery: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Check out all of our extensive coverage of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, including galleries, news, impressions, a metareview, and more.

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Does Smash Bros. Brawl merit a Teen rating?

Griffin McElroy — 2008-03-15T12:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo Wii, Fighting

We've all had a week to "FALCON PUNCH!" our way through the Wii's latest mega-anticipated title, scrambling for an innumerable amount of Smash Balls and mastering our technique with the subtly complex Jigglypuff, but in our excitement, we can't forget that group who is unable to join the Super Smash Bros. Brawl parade -- we speak, of course, of the twelve-and-under crowd, who are excluded from the party due to the game's Teen rating from the ESRB.

A blogger for San Jose's Mercury News recently called the mildly restrictive rating into question, claiming that the "crude humor" and "cartoon violence" present in the game is comparable to any number of children's TV shows. While we're usually not ones to disagree with North America's most esteemed game graders, we can't help but see where he's coming from.

What do you think about the rating -- is it completely unmerited, or does the game really run the risk of inspiring youngsters to attack one another with trophies and hammers?

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Super Smash Bros. Brawl's secret Snake codec taunt

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-03-13T15:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo Wii

An interesting Super Smash Bros. Brawl secret involving Solid Snake's famous codec can be found after the break.IGN has posted a video of Solid Snake's secret taunt involving the classic Metal Gear Solid codec. To access the special taunts, players have to head to Shadow Moses Island and play as Snake. By quickly tapping down on the d-pad, players will get a radio transmission from a classic MGS character and a little dialogue on Snake's current opponent. IGN states it will upload a video of Snake's special codec conversations for 10 characters each day (or you can watch them all now) for those who don't want to experience it themselves.

[Thanks Fernando]

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Gripes and Glees: One week with Smash Bros. Brawl

Scott Jon Siegel — 2008-03-12T10:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Features, Nintendo Wii, Fighting

Oh Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Our blogging super-powers have given us an entire week with your dual-layered, nostalgia-filled awesomeness, where most gamers have only had the past few days. In spite of the nega-review, Brawl still seems to be pure gold in the eyes of most gamers and reviewers.

Of course, a game as massive as Brawl is bound that have hidden its imperfections somewhere. So let's go hunting, listing the game's many gleeful points, each followed by a gripe that may have been overlooked in our fanboyish devotion to the franchise. No facet of the game will go untouched here, so be warned that spoilers may abound. Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let's play Gripes and Glees!

Glee: The opening cinematic to Brawl is gorgeous as always, and even updates as new characters become unlocked.
Gripe: The initial load-screen for the cinematic lasts around ten to fifteen seconds, a wait time normally unheard of in first-party Nintendo titles. The unskippable load time feels even longer due to the lack of music and an almost entirely black screen.

Glee: Many of the new-to-Brawl characters have incredibly unique play styles. Playing as Olimar reminds us of how much we loved the Pikmin games, and the strategy of switching between Pokemon while using Pokemon Trainer is a faithful recreation of that classic RPG element.
Gripe: Far too many characters just feel like near-clones of each other. Pit, Link, Metaknight, Marth, Ike, Fox, Falco, Wolf. We love them all, but so many are just so darn similar.

Glee: We're pleased as punch that Nintendo saw fit to include a smattering of classic Melee stages in Brawl.
Gripe: We're a tad disappointed, however, that our favorite original Smash Bros. stages couldn't make surprise appearances. Where's the love for Dream Land, or Hyrule Castle? At least that horrid Kongo Jungle is nowhere to be found.

Glee: The demos offered in Masterpieces mode are a surprising and welcome addition to Brawl's compendium of nostalgia.
Gripe: The 1 to 3-minute demos force you to exit Brawl in order to play them, making it cumbersome to try out the "Masterpieces" back-to-back. Having to re-boot Brawl from the Wii menu after playing each super-short demo hardly seems worth the effort.

Glee: We not only get trophies, but STICKERS too? We love stickers!
Gripe: Collecting stickers in Brawl just makes us wish we had those stickers in real life, to adorn our Wii-motes and Trapper Keepers. Pretty please, Nintendo?

Glee: The Subspace Emissary's numerous cutscenes are amazing, with just the right blend of bizarre character cross-overs, action scenes, and humor.
Gripe: The cutscene menu in the Movies section is a slow-scrolling list, making it surprisingly difficult to find that one particularly awesome cut-scene that comes late in the game (or Peach's hilarious "tea-time" scene).

Glee: The controversial "toon-shaded" version of Young Link makes his appearance as a playable character.
Gripe: He isn't toon-shaded! Toon Link in Brawl is the lanky, poorly-rendered awkward teenage version of that bright and colorful Wind Waker Link we've all grown to love (or hate).

Glee: The Subspace Emissary blends character storylines together in surprisingly clever ways. Nothing makes us giggle more than the team-up of Samus Aran and Pikachu, and certain character introductions made our hearts go all a-flutter.
Gripe: Without ruining too much, we'll just say that Sonic is so poorly woven into the fabric of Brawl's story mode, it honestly spoiled the entire wild ride a little. We recommend low expectations for the Hedgehog's entry into the fray.

Glee: Attaching stickers to character trophies adds a surprisingly refreshing RPG-esque twist to the Subspace Emissary mode.
Gripe: Attaching stickers to every last character that you control in SSE quickly becomes a tiresome and repetitive process.

Glee: Brawl offers fickle players four possible controller options, with customizable controls on each. Hooray for options!
Gripe: Boo for not enough options! While the D-pad on the Wii-mote turned sideways is used for movement, D-pads on the classic controller or Gamecube pad can not be assigned to anything other than taunting. The sideways Wii-mote customization options are also woefully limited; if hitting 1 and 2 simultaneously can activate a smash attack, why can't holding 1 and B (or 2 and B) do something as well?

Glee: Melee haters will be happy to know that Brawl brings the speed down to a level more akin to the N64 original. Playing it brings back fond memories of 1999.
Gripe: Though slower, characters feel "floatier" as well, and the precision control of Melee seems to be missing somewhat in its sequel. What's more, using the basic attack of many characters feels like you left the turbo button on by accident; they kick and punch automatically at such a high rate that we're honestly wondering if it might be a [gasp] glitch.

Gripe: Brawl's dual-layer DVD has proven too much for certain dirty or banged-up Wiis, which won't properly play the game without being sent in to Nintendo first for an optical laser cleaning.
Glee: Ours was miraculously fine, even after being checked through baggage for an eight-hour flight to France (and spending an extra day as lost luggage at Heathrow Airport). Carrying cases and tender loving care FTW.

How about it, fellow Brawlers? Any other gripes or glees that we missed? Let them be heard in the comments.

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Web services allow for easy Brawl stage sharing

Kyle Orland — 2008-03-11T18:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Hacks, Nintendo Wii, Fighting

Sure, the Super Smash Bros. Brawl stage editor is a great way to extend the value of the game, but it's only really valuable if you and your friend-code friends have the creativity to come up with interesting stages. Those of us with no creative talent and/or no friends are out of luck!

Enter the web, which has already filled in some of the stage-sharing holes Nintendo left in the game. IGN's recently launched Smash Bros. supersite already has a selection of over 100 user-created stages that players can download to their SD cards, while the Smash World forums Stage Browser currently has 85 or so stages available. Each site offers picture previews, easy instructions for uploading and a rating system to separate the wheat from the chaff. Now if someone could just hack a way to play these user-created stages in online matches we'd really be in business!

Visit - IGN's stage sharing clearinghouse
Visit - Smash World Forums stage browser

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Error Code 85010: Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection 'Smashed'

James Ransom-Wiley — 2008-03-11T12:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo Wii, Fighting, Online

Nintendo's chief explanation for Error Code 85010 goes something like: "Ours [sic] servers may be trying to handle an unusually high amount of traffic (especially if you are trying to play online with a recently-released or popular game, or if there is a new Wii system update). Please wait a few hours and try the connection again later." That's an oblique way of stating, simply: You're trying to play Smash Bros., aren't you?

Brawl's online component isn't entirely dysfunctional. If you've traded digits, playing 'with friends' is stable, and also permits more than one player from the same Wii to participate. Likewise, Spectator Mode is almost always working if you're the faceless voyeur-type who also likes to spend a little coin (in this case, on arbitrary betting). But when it comes to random brawls 'with anyone,' Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection tends to get, um, stressed. Good luck getting anything more than a few rounds with the sandbag before the service drops you during peak hours -- also known as, 'nights and weekends.'

When contacted, Nintendo assured us that its technicians are looking into the problem. See what happens when you hire a pair of plumbers to build your server farm out of warp pipes?

[Note: If you've received Error Code 85010 and are unable to establish any kind of online connection, then the problem could be associated with your internet service (dude, dial-up is so not gonna work -- ever) or your router (Wii can be picky). Refer to Nintendo Customer Service for more information.]

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Super Smash Bros. Brawl has voice chat ... it's called Xbox Live, PSN, Skype, etc.

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-03-11T06:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo DS, Hacks, Mac, PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360

The sound of human silence is deafening a mere 48 hours into the online Super Smash Bros. Brawl experience. With some vigorous testing, we've discovered five simple ways to bring the mysteries of voice chat to the Wii. Harnessing the power of other consoles, or a com-pu-ter, the joy of sharing voice while playing online with someone hundreds or thousands of miles away can be experienced by many. Don't forget to check out our list of Brawl friend codes if you need some online buds.

Xbox Live: Or as we've come to know it -- Brawl LIVE(R). Just set up private chat and off you go. Got more than one friend? Go into a Halo 3 lobby (you do have Halo 3, right?).
PSN: Start up a new chat under the "friends" section of the XMB. Invite all the friends you want and wait for them to join. Works and sounds exceptional! USB and Bluetooth compatible.
Skype: Set up a conference call.
TeamSpeak or Ventrilo: Guilds, clans and other computer types know these services. Perfect for guildies brawling together.
Nintendo DS: Use Metroid Prime Hunters or Pokémon Diamond or Pearl. Warning: More inane codes required to pull this option off. There are also homebrew options.

Of course, if none of these options are viable, might we suggest using a classic: The phone.

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Boston wins Nintendo's Smash Bros. Brawl launch tournament

Andrew Yoon — 2008-03-10T23:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo Wii, Fighting, Competitive Gaming, Galleries

Representatives from Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York met in NYC for Nintendo's official Smash Bros. ~~Melee~~ Brawl launch tournament. Each of these finalists were going to walk home with a Wii and an insane amount of Best Buy gift monies. The victor, however, would get a brand new TV, sound system, and a customized crystal Wii. Boston's representative took home the gold with a stunning performance with Sheik (see video, above).

The Smash competitions went throughout the night, ensuring that patient Best Buy shoppers were treated to some entertainment while they waited for the game's obligatory midnight release. Many New Yorkers, after picking up their copies, rushed to the subway, undoubtedly rushing home to enjoy their spoils.

Update: Really -- seriously? Melee? Fixed.

Gallery: Smash Bros. Brawl NYC launch tournament

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MIT catches Brawl fever with newest 'hack'

Scott Jon Siegel — 2008-03-10T15:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Hacks, Nintendo Wii, Fighting

The students of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are once again showing off their gamer cred with an on-campus prank (or "hack," as those princely nerds like to call it). This time, it's in honor of the release of Smash Bros. Brawl, a modest little Wii title that you may or may not have heard of. The "hackers" hung items and symbols from the game in Lobby 7 of their campus on launch day, including a Pokéball, crate, and Mario's cap.

We have to admit that we're a bit disappointed with the simplicity of this gaming prank. Hanging little trinkets is nothing compared to arming and helmeting a statue to resemble Master Chief. While we appreciate the thought, this prank would seem tame at a community college, much less one of the most competitive schools in America. Of course, we're willing to forgive and forget, if MIT's student body can manage to come up with something a little better. You raised the bar yourselves, ladies and gentlemen. Now here's your chance to meet it.

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