Archive for August, 2009
On Shelves This Week: August 30 - September 5, 2009
0 Comments Published August 31st, 2009 in Toys, Toys R US
We’ve got an even spread of game releases for this week’s batch of On Shelves games, including a couple of downloadable ones. Big for handhelds this week would be Capcom’s and Namco Bandai’s brawler offerings on the PSP, Fate/Unlimited Codes (available via PSN) and Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny, respectively.
Get ready to make more rockin’ music too with the release of Guitar Hero 5 across all platforms, as well as a couple more casual games to stave off that boredom. Ready? Get rollin. Full list of game releases this week below.
Champions Online - This MMO features The Champions, a group of superheroes tasked to protect the Millennium City. Out to launch their crusade for peace, security and justice, they’re calling for more allies to defend the city against evildoers. It features a wide variety of character options, ensuring that total customization, as well as real-time combat and the graphically detailed Champions universe.
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Commander’s Challenge - With 50 unique challenges, there ought to be at least one that you pass with flying colors. But let’s not limit ourselves to just one. After all, that will be such an embarrassment given that you have been chosen as a member of one of the most elite armies, taking on the toughest commanders.
- Xbox 360, PS3 - August 31, 2009
- ESRB Teen
- Electronic Arts
Cruise Ship Vacation Games - It’s the ultimate cruise vacation fun you’ll have, with many game offerings, such as Casino games, 10 mini0games, and more.
- Wii -September 1, 2009
- ESRB Everyone
- US 19.99
- Activision
Defense Grid: The Awakening - Yes, it’s a tower defense game, this one specifically designed for the Xbox Live Arcade. Up to four players are given the opportunity to hack, slash and smash their way through the lush, hand-drawn landscapes of up to 20 defense environments.
- Xbox 360 (XBLA) - September 2, 2009
- ESRB Everyone 10
- Hidden Path Entertainment
Emergency Room: Real Life Rescues - And here we’ve got another medical-simulation game for the DS. If saving lives inside the emergency room is not your cup of tea, then maybe ambulance-action is what suits you more. Be the first on the scene as a paramedic and stabilize the patient until you reach the hospital. They better be not DOA. (This one’s weird. It’s been on Shelves for three weeks now).
Fate/Unlimited Codes - The visual novel graces the PSP with this game version of Fate/Stay Night. Visit Japan and its local towns as seven pairs of Masters and Servants compete for the Holy Grail, possession of which will grant them any wish. It’s a brawlfest at its finest, definitely.
- PSP (PSN) - September 3, 2009
- ESRB Teen
- Capcom
Gears of War 2 GoTY Edition - The GoTY Edition will be carrying ALL of the downloadable content previously offered for the game. They’ve got that all that covered with “The All Fronts Collection,” which adds 19 maps, and the “Road to Run,” which provides for the extra campaign scene.
- Xbox 360 - September 1, 2009
- ESRB Mature
- US 36.99
- Microsoft
Guitar Hero 5 - More rockin’ and rollin’ are coming your way from Activision for their newest music simulating game, Guitar Hero 5.
- Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2 - September 1, 2009
- ESRB Teen
- Activision
Luxor - Puzzle action in a fast-paced environment leads you to confront the goddess Isis out to annihilate Ancient Egypt and its famous mystical lands. Colored spheres sure are pretty, but they’re deadly, and it’s up to you to make sure that they do not succeed in overwhelming the palaces, fields and skies of Egypt by shooting at them.
- iPhone - August 31, 2009
- ESRB Everyone
- Mumbo Jumbo
Mini Ninjas - He may be small but he’s got the moves. Hiro, the ninja, will bring you to an awesome ninja adventure as you train to battle a magical army of an evil Samurai. Learn Kuji and use them well and you just might find yourself strong and able enough to reach the final confrontation with the Evil Samurai in his Fortress of Doom.
- Xbox 360 (XBL), PS3, Wii, DS, PC - September 1, 2009
- ESRB Everyone 10
- Eidos Interactive
Muramasa: The Demon Blade - It’s the Genroku era and the place is ruled by the skilled shogun Tsunayoshi Tokogawa. It is, however, not a time of peace, and Tokogawa’s greed for power is only getting stronger. He is after the Demon Blade, and it is up to you to make sure he does not lay his hands on it.
- Wii - September 3, 2009
- ESRB Teen
- US 46.99
- Ignition Entertainment
NBA 2K10: Draft Combine - It’s a DL title, alright, which allows fans to custom-create their favorite players down to the smallest detail. Begin their careers on-court and experience what it’s like to go through the Draft process.
- PS3 - September 3, 2009
- ESRB Everyone
- US
- 2K Sports
Pinball Hall of Fame - The Williams Collection - Perfect for that “whiling-away-the-time” moments, this version of the classic pinball game graces your modern consoles with its old school entertainment.
Section 8 - You’re a part of the super elite squad, who, oddly, has this fascination with suicide missions no other army infantry would dare take.
Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny - challenging single-player modes, head-to-head multiplayer and gorgeous visuals are what awaits any fighting game fan in this offering from Namco Bandai.
- PSP - September 1, 2009
- ESRB
- US 38.99
- Namco Bandai
Wii homebrew developer Robert Dixon has emailed us to let us know that he has now released his latest project, Wii Game Studio. It’s a code-free easy tool for developing Wii homebrew.
Do take note of the fact that this is just a Beta release, hence there may still be bugs lurking about. Alos, make sure that you have installed devkitPro before installing this app.
Thanks to Robert!
Download: Wii Game Studio
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PS3 drops to dead last in Japan’s hardware sales charts
0 Comments Published August 31st, 2009 in Toys, Toys R US
Handhelds are dominating the hardware sales charts in Japan right now, but the story over there is still the PS3 — specifically the fact that it has dropped to dead last in the Media Create sales rankings.
The PS3 moved only 2,052 units for the week ended August 23. That’s more than a thousand units less than the older PS2. It’s quite possible that the lull in sales is because people are waiting for the PS3 Slim to drop. It would be interesting to see the number for that week. Also, contrary to the new pricing scheme for older PS3s in other countries, Sony Japan has chosen to not give the bulkier models a price drop.
At the top of the charts is the DSi. Yep, it’s still going strong, selling more than half of the second placer PSP. Rounding out the top four are the Wii and Xbox 360 in third and fourth place, respectively. Here are the charts:
- DSi: 59,578
- PSP: 27,187
- Wii: 26,972
- Xbox 360: 8,979
- DS Lite: 5,735
- PS2: 3,295
- PS3: 2,052
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Nintendo staying the course, will leave price cuts to Microsoft and Sony
0 Comments Published August 30th, 2009 in Toys, Toys R US
It’s been a head-on collision between Sony and Microsoft the past week with their own respective price cut announcements. Oddly enough, Nintendo remains sitting prettily and quietly. Have they got no plans to launch their defenses in light of the current happenings? Apparently, no, they don’t.
Said Denise Kaigler, Nintendo of America’s rep, their status quo will be remaining unchanged.
Our focus has always been creating fun and engaging game-play experiences. Because of that focus, Wii has been the best-selling video game system in the United States for two years and counting.
It offers the most fun and the best value for consumers. Wii can be played by every member of the family the moment it comes out of the box. It’s the only console that offers the option of precise motion controls right now, with the Wii MotionPlus accessory. And Nintendo systems are the only place you can play new and classic Nintendo franchises.
Wii games that will be on people’s lists through the holidays include Wii Sports Resort, Metroid Prime: Trilogy, Wii Fit Plus and New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Nintendo offers something for everyone.
Related Articles:
- EEDAR: Xbox 360 Elite price cut won’t affect sales significantly, MS to drop prices some more
- Sony still losing money on PS3 Slim
Homebrew coder Uffe Flarup has released Sand Traps, an original puzzle/platform game for Nintendo Wii. The goal of the game is to save a certain amount of sand in each level by tilting the board using the Wii remote.
Developer’s note:
The objective of the game is to tilt the board using your wiimote, in order to guide the sand towards the green exit. In each level you need to save a certain percentage of the sand. If the sand ‘falls out’ of the board it is lost. If the sand touches the red stone it is also lost. In some levels you can add new stone, and in some levels you can also remove it again so you can reuse it elsewhere.
Download: Sand Traps v1.0
More Wii homebrews:
Homebrew coders Tim Brugman and Maikel Bloemendal has released a new update for BlueMSX-wii, a MSX 1/MSX 2/MSX 2 /Turbo R emulator for the Nintendo Wii based on blueMSX. The latest update is now compatible with BlueMSX V2.8.2 and features full support for GameCube controller with some various fixes.
Version 1.0 changelog:
- Updated to BlueMSX V2.8.2.
- Added full support for GameCube controller.
- Fixed problems with ’save state’. Also improved speed of saving a lot.
- Allow empty screenshot elements in gamelist.xml files (did crash before).
- Missing ‘Screenshots’ sub directories are now automatically created (on generating screenshot).
- Solved showing wrong day of state files.
- Embedded game pack will only be installed when no game pack is already installed.
Download: BlueMSX-wii v1.0
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Nintendo Weekend Warrior - Are these silent waters running deep?
0 Comments Published August 29th, 2009 in Toys, Toys R US
With Sony and Microsoft now busy making their marketing push for the holidays, you gotta wonder what Nintendo is planning to do about it, especially considering that we haven’t heard from any of the Nintendo execs for a while now. Are they gonna slim the Wii down too and call it the Wee Wii? Good grief I sure hope not. For the news that did come out over the week, you can catch it all on this edition of the Nintendo Weekend Warrior.
Games
- Okami sequel coming? 7-11 reports. Link
- No More Heroes 2 release window set for January, T-Shirt design contest on. Link
- Nintendo Power to reveal Star Fox Wii? Link
- Level-5 reveals bonus game in Professor Layton 4. Link
- Level 5 unveils new DS RPG: Fantasy Life. Link
Homebrew
- Wii homebrew - Crazy Intro v0.8. Link
- Wii homebrew - Revolution Engine v0.4 alpha 3. Link
- Wii homebrew game - Liqwiid Wars v0.2.6. Link
Homebrew coder WiiCrazy/I.R.on is back to release a new update for Crazy Intro, a homebrew tool that allows you customize the welcome screen of your Nintendo Wii, display your selected pictures and play music. The latest update has added new features and some other fixes.
Version 0.8 changelog:
- Visual settings and button configurations separated. Now you can build & share themes. Each theme has their own folder under crazyintro folder in the sd card. You can select the theme used by editing the crazyintro.xml configuration file. You should use folder name of the theme. Now crazyintro.xml file only contains stuff like shortcuts & selected theme and so on.
- All wiimote buttons are now configurable. You can even control what to launch with A and B buttons. Also , -, 1, 2 buttons are configurable.
- You can create complicated shortcuts. Say you don’t want your kids messing with the dangerous applications, you can create hidden shortcuts to those applications. They can be a hidden channel or a dol/elf on the sd card. For ex: pressing HOME followed by Left, A, Right, A would take you to any title deleter.
- Autoboot function for mp3 playing themes. Boots your chosen shortcut, be it homebrew channel, system menu or any title on your wii… (of course when music stops)
- Experimental dol/elf loading feature added, beware there are some compatibility issues in some applications at the moment.
- Code is now open source (http://code.google.com/p/crazyintro/)
Download: Crazy Intro v0.8
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Could there be an Okami sequel? If 24/7 convenience store 7-11 is to be believed, then yes, there will be one indeed. This piece of information was indicated in their online database, under the name of “Okamiden.”
Okamiden, for those who have not come across this name in the past, is the same that appeared recently in a trademark database. The Kanji characters would suggest that it is indeed the successor to the original Okami title.
Don’t rush to lofty conclusions just yet though. The listing from the store is not for the actual game, but is instead for the latest issue of Famitsu set to come out next week. Reportedly, the magazine will have coverage on the game. The Famitsu listing does not, however, make mention of any specific platform it will be on, if ever. It would be a safe guess, though, to say that it’ll be coming to the Wii, given that Okami will be released for Nintendo’s console mid-October later.
We’ll keep you posted on this.
Capcom prepping “several” new titles for TGS
0 Comments Published August 28th, 2009 in Toys, Toys R US
We had E3, then GamesCom, then PAX is coming up next, and then right after that, we have Tokyo Game Show! It’s events season alright, and every time we can’t wait to see what the pubs and devs are bringing along with them to show off to us. Capcom’s got their list down pat already, so it seems. Via their Unity twitter, they’ve announced that they have “several” new game announcements in store.
Included in their list of games they’ll bring to TGS are Dead Rising 2, Lost Planet 2, and Tatsunoku vs Capcom. Also rumored to be in the list is the rumored (and previously reported - as in one article ago - sequel to Okami, “Okamiden.”
Well, guess we’ll find out on TGS then. Even happens in — where else — Tokyo on September 24th till the 27th.
Related Articles:
- Doing the honors: Kaz Hirai to give keynote speech for TGS 2009
- Koji Igarashi still at Konami, next project may show up at TGS 2009
