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Wiikly Update: 6/23/08

WiiWare: Gyrostarr, 700 Wii Points

This schmup from High Voltage Entertainment has you and up to three additional friends racing along a track at high speed, destroying enemies and trying to collect enough energy to open the warp gate that lets you proceed to the next level. You can use your grapple to pick up energy or weapons, combine attacks with your friends for more destruction, or make your way to a high-speed bonus level if you play well enough. This game features 50 unique levels, and you can use nearly whatever control scheme you like. Work together with friends, or try to outdo them.

Master System: Alex Kidd in Miracle World, 500 Wii Points

Alex Kidd’s most famous adventure comes to the Virtual Console. Alex needs to track down his brother Egle, and along the way he must battle monsters sent by Janken the Great, as well as defeat his henchmen in rock-paper-scissors matches. Aside from that, there are 16 levels of classic platforming action for you to adventure through in this game.

Neo Geo: Burning Fight, 900 Wii Points

This Final Fight clone puts you in the shoes of Duke, Ryu and Billy, as they fight through legions of yakuza in order to take down their boss, Casterora. You’ll pick up weapons, destroy phone booths and the like to get food, and use your superpowered special attack to make your way to the end of each level. You may also find yourself in a mini-game on occasion, where you need to quickly defeat enemies in order to earn a prize.

Alright, I just have to say it: how many Neo Geo fighters do we need? Not as many as we’ve received, that’s for certain.

 

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Posted by Jim Avery in General News, Nintendo DS | Comments Off

Rare Pokémon Sighted At GameStop

Over the next couple of weekends, GameStop is giving out a free Pokémon. Between June 20-22 and 27-29, anyone who brings in their copy of Pokémon Diamond/Pearl will receive Deoxys, a Legendary Pokémon that cannot be obtained through the normal course of either game. All you need to do to acquire this rare Pokémon is to show up, so head to your local Gamestop either this weekend or the next.

I think I’ll head over to GameStop to nab this guy; I still haven’t finished Pearl.

 

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Posted by Jim Avery in General News, Nintendo Wii, Reviews | Comments Off

Atari Sues Over Low Review Scores

Apparently, more than a few game sites have been told by game maker Atari that their low-scoring reviews of Alone in the Dark had to be taken down, but Atari has taken legal action for the first time. German website 4Players was told that they owed Atari compensation for writing a review based off a pirated version of the game; 4Players contends that they obtained their copy legally through a retail outlet. Atari also accused Gamer.no and GameReactor of writing based on pirated copies, but took no legal action.

Another review site, Gamer.nl, was recently told the same, and noted that "[Atari] explicitly told [Gamer.nl] that they only let high scoring reviews break the post-release embargo date." The Wii version of the game hits North America on June 24.

I can understand press embargoes and such, but the fact that low-scoring reviews are primarily targeted has to be nothing but bad press for Atari in the end.

 

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Posted by Jim Avery in General News | 1 Comment

Nintendo To Address Hardcore Gamers At E3

If any of you are worried that Nintendo’s new blue-ocean philosophy has made them cater only to casuals, do not worry. Speaking with Gamepro yesterday, Nintendo’s public relations director, Marc Franklin, noted that "we will be announcing several new titles that core gamers will be interested in around the time of E3." He noted that the Wii’s soaring popularity actually necessitates such games for hardcore gamers: "[Third-party developers] realize that Wii is the current platform of choice in this generation, and their bottom lines depend on appealing to the largest base." Franklin did not comment on what titles would be revealed.

We’ve already got the big four out over the past couple years; will we be seeing a revival, or perhaps something new? Maybe Animal Crossing; that was mentioned a while back, but we never heard from it again.

 

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Wiikly Update: 6/16/08

WiiWare: Block Breaker Deluxe, 800 Wii Points

This Gameloft game is a clone of the popular arcade title Breakout. The core gameplay is accompanied by "lively characters and amazing graphics" based in some trendy locations, like a club or a casino. This iteration of the game also features a multiplayer mode, though specifics were not offered by the press release. This edition also includes "special bricks, multiple bonuses, secret weapons, paddle size options and ball-speed variations".

WiiWare: Cocoto Fishing Master, 700 Wii Points

As Cocoto, you must travel the world and catch five millennial fish, in order to prevent the end of the world. As you travel across five different lakes in five worlds, you’ll use the Wii Remote’s motion-sensing controls like a real fishing rod, in order to catch fish and battle bosses.  As you catch fish, you can sell them to upgrade your equipment at the shop.

Neo Geo: Samurai Shodown, 900 Wii Points

The first game in one of SNK’s many popular fighter series. You play as one of twelve characters, wielding your own unique weapon, and possibly an animal companion. As you take damage, your anger gauge rises, until you reach that certain level and your attacks become more powerful. Defeat all your opponents to confront the evil Amakusa Shiro Tokisada.

Breakout is always fun, but I’m not convinced just by the press release for Block Breaker Deluxe; I need to find a review. Otherwise, Neo Geo fighters usually are pretty good.

 

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Posted by Jim Avery in General News, Nintendo Wii | 1 Comment

Nintendo Sues Nyko Over Patent Infringement

On June 10, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against game accessory maker Nyko, for its Wireless Kama Nunchuk. The wireless alternative to Nintendo’s controller attachment "wholly appropriates the novel shape, design, overall appearance and even the color and materials used in the Nintendo Nunchuk controller" in addition to borrowing the trademarked "Nunchuk" name. When asked for comment, Nyko spokesman C. C. Swiney stated that "we have not knowingly violated anyone’s intellectual property and we’re still examining this".

Seriously? Console developers actually sue third-party accessory makers? I can’t recall ever seeing this before.

 

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May/April NPD Group US Sales Numbers

May 2008 Hardware

Wii – 675,100
NDS – 452,600
PS3 – 208,700
360 – 186,600
PSP – 182,300

May 2008 Software

1. 360 Grand Theft Auto IV – 871,300
2. Wii Mario Kart Wii – 787,400
3. Wii Wii Fit – 687,700
4. PS3 Grand Theft Auto IV -442,900
5. Wii Wii Play – 294,600
6. Wii Super Smash Bros. Brawl – 171,100
7. PS2 Iron Man – 130,600
8. Wii Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock – 116,800
9. NDS Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness – 107,000
10. NDS Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time – 102,000

^The numbers to the right represent units sold, and all numbers represent all incarnations of the product line (special editions, DS vs. DS Lite, etc.)

GTAIV‘s continue domination is no surprise, as the reviews and hype are phenomenal; neither is the hardware, anymore. Nintendo’s total domination of software, however, was a bit of a surprise. Usually it’s a bit of a tighter race, but the impact of so many big franchises, along with Wii Fit, seems to have handed May to Nintendo on a silver platter. NPD analyst Anita Frazier stated that "the U.S. video games industry has generated $6.6B in sales so far this year which exceeds total 1997 annual revenues. The industry is on pace to achieve revenues in the $21-$23B range for 2008." She also noted that We Ski made #12 on the month’s list.

 

April 2008 Hardware

Wii – 714,200
NDS – 414,800
PSP – 192,700
360 – 188,000
PS3 – 187,100
PS2 – 124,400

April 2008 Software

1. 360 Grand Theft Auto IV – 1,850,000
2. Wii Mario Kart Wii – 1,120,000
3. PS3 Grand Theft Auto IV – 1,000,000
4. Wii Wii Play – 360,000
5. Wii Super Smash Bros. Brawl – 326,000
6. PS3 Gran Turismo 5: Prologue – 224,000
7. NDS Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness – 202,000
8. NDS Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time – 202,000
9. Wii Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock – 152,000
10. 360 Call of Duty IV: Modern Warfare – 141,000

^The numbers to the right represent units sold, and all numbers represent all incarnations of the product line (special editions, DS vs. DS Lite, etc.)

Mario Kart Wii has a very nice, though not entirely unexpected, showing, and May indicates that it’s got long-term selling power, too. Looks like GTAIV does as well, though. Interesting, though, that people seem to prefer Explorers of Darkness to Time. Guess they think exploring darkness is cooler.

 

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