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Iwata Talks Release Date, Virtual Console, Pokemon Wii
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Fighting, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Retro, Role Playing Games, Wii,
In probably the biggest Nintendo update since E3, Nintendo’s President Satoru Iwata announced some major new details about the Wii and the games available for it. Quickly summarized, the main points of interest are:
- The Wii launch date will be revealed in September
- Unsurprisingly, Nintendo won’t lose much on Wii hardware sales. They hope to have 6 million units ready by April ‘07
- Game pricing for the Virtual Console is suggested to be around $5 and $10 a game (implying this won’t be subscription-based)
- The Wii will be able to recognize touch-screen input, meaning the DS can be used as a controller in some instances
- DS sales are expected to be around 2 million / month for the coming year, with production to meet this level of demand
- Pokemon for the Wii will be released and available in Winter ‘06
It’s good to see more concrete details filtering in. Also, announcing Pokemon during this conference instead of during E3 may have been a great strategic decision, as Nintendo appears to be trying to shed its “kiddy” image with titles like Project H.A.M.M.E.R. and Disaster: Day of Crisis that were announced at E3.
Read More 
| Famitsu (Japanese) via Spong.com (English summary)
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Alan Kotok has died. Kotok, an early pioneer of computer video games, entered MIT as a 16-year-old prodigy. There he became one of the original “hackers” – a member of the group of MIT students who developed “Spacewar,” contributing to the game’s design and serving as an inspiration to the group. “Spacewar,” arguably the world’s first computer game, ran on a Digital Equipment PDP-1 computer and was developed in 1962 as a hobby project. In an interview in 1990, Mr. Kotok said, “The only money I made from Spacewar was as a consultant for lawsuits in the video game industry in the 1970’s. I have all this fame, but it’s in a very narrow circle.” Kotok was 64. The cause of death was listed as a heart attack.
Read More | New York Times
Club Nintendo Members Can Test “Bit Generations”
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Nintendo, Retro,
Nintendo has never been one to shy away from strange gameplay ideas (see Electroplankton), but the new titles in Nintendo’s “Bit Generations” might be some of the oddest. Through these titles, which feature very simplistic graphics, Nintendo hopes to “re-examine the roots of gaming.” Now, if you’re one of the lucky member’s of Nintendo Japan’s Club Nintendo, you can get in on the action early. Nintendo is looking for 700 participants from the club to try out the 7 simple games before their July launch dates.
Nintendo definitely seems to be taking to heart their mantra that great graphics don’t necessarily make great games. It’ll be interesting to see whether these games provide deep, compelling play experiences or if they just prove that terrible graphics don’t necessarily make great games either.
Read More | Nintendo of Japan
Ms. Pac-Man On The iPod nano
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Culture, Mods/Hacks, Portable/Mobile, Retro,
Remember all the rumors from a few days back about how Apple is possibly hiring game designers to work on iGames for the iPod? Well, they’re definitely going to want to send this guy a job offer. Some guy known only as “Scott” used his iPod nano, some enginuity, foamboard, and really tiny print-outs for a MAME cabinet to make the world’s smallest Ms. Pac Man machine. This thing has to be seen to be believed. It stands just over 5 inches tall, and “it works”.
The idea of one day carrying around an arcade in my pocket makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Mr. Smallest MAME cabinet in the world inventor, we salute you.
Read More | “Scott’s” Photo Gallery via Kotaku
Video Games Live in Pennsylvania June 3rd
Posted by Josh Smith Categories: Culture, Nintendo, PlayStation 2, Retro, Xbox,
June 3rd Video Games Live will be stopping in Philadelphia, PA. Video Games Live is a live concert which features games and performances from such classics as Mario, Zelda, Halo and Final Fantasy. The show will be at the Merriam Theater and tickets start at $25 dollars. The event has already received much praise for past performances and is definitely worth checking out for fanboys of all backgrounds. The event will kick off with a video game inspired costume contest at 7PM. The concert also features a Guitar Hero contest with a special guitar being bestowed upon the rockingest video game fan in Philly.
More shows will be coming to Rosemont (IL), Hollywood (CA), and Toronto (Canada). Tickets are available on Ticketmaster for all the events.
Read More | Video Games Live
PopCap’s Hammer Heads Now Available for Download
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Action, Internet, PC, Portable/Mobile, Retro,
Hammer Heads, one of the first games ever shown on Microsoft’s UMPC spec (a.k.a. Origami) is now available for download over at PopCap Games. Based on the old carnival favorite, whack-a-mole, Hammer Heads has you breaking statues of garden gnomes that keep popping up on your lawn. The game could be great on a UMPC, as touch-screen controls could allow for much quicker gnome-bashing than a mouse. Still, it’s not necessarily a reason to go rushing out and buy that TabletKiosk just yet…with UMPC prices being what they are, you could probably just go out and buy an old carnival machine for the same price.
The game is available as a download only (no web version yet) for PC only. The free version of the game allows you to play through 7 levels before you’re asked to upgrade to “Deluxe” for $19.95.
Read More | Hammer Heads Product Page
Live from Microsoft Xbox E3 Media Briefing
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Corporate News, E3, Features, Release Dates, Retro, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
The Xbox Media Briefing started with an amazing 3D array of the Gamertags of everyone that is here in the audience. It was absolutely stunning the way that they did this.
At the beginning of the briefing, we got a Gear of War trailer, followed by a demonstration of one of the levels. We must say - this game is drop-dead gorgeous.
Peter Moore hits the stage.
Xbox 360 has sold 5 million units faster than any console in history, as well as the iPod. Xbox Live will hit 6 million members within 12 months. As of last week, there is a 57% attach rate to Xbox Live.
We are given a look at upcoming Xbox Live Arcade games, including:
Contra
Frogger
Dig Dug
Ms. Pac Man
Track and Field
PacMan
Galaga
Sonic
Ultimate MK 3
Street Fighter II
Paper Boy
This is gonna be good stuff. All games will be updated in high definition, online multiplayer, and obviously achievements. Arcade is also creating a space for indie developers to get their new ideas across to today’s gamers.
Just announced: Lumines is hitting the Xbox 360 as an Arcade title, “Lumines Live.” The game will have licensed music from the likes of Madonna and others. Totally awesome.
We are watching a trailer of upcoming Xbox 360 titles. I am telling you, there is no difference as of now between these graphics and those of the PS3. Believe that. Smackdown vs. RAW 2007, Ninety-Nine Nights, and Gears of War look fabulous.
By holiday 2006, there will be more than 160 games available for the Xbox 360. When football season starts, Xbox 360 will be the only place to hit up Madden 2007 in next-gen format.
There is still development dedicated to the original Xbox.
Newly Announced: We are watching a trailer for what looks to be a sequel to Fable. In fact, it is! Fable 2 has just been announced, and this game looks incredible. Of course, this is a CG trailer…but the storyline looks tight.
Forza Motorsport 2: Another racing game, but these cars are fully customizable…from the engine, to the wheels, to the paint. Over 300 cars, racing up to 11 people on Xbox Live, and it will have a wireless steering wheel controller.
Other accessories include a wireless headset, and the Xbox Live Vision Camera that we leaked a few weeks ago. All three accessories will be available in Fall 2006.
Focusing on Japan, games like Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, and DOA Xtreme Volleyball 2 are hopefully going to make the Japanese appreciate the Xbox 360. Um, no they won’t.
Now viewing a trailer for Splinter Cell: Double Agent. I like the new gameplay elements, and the graphics are (again) top-notch. Even the gameplay footage. Launching in September.
Moving on to Viva Pinata. This is like a mix between Cubivore, The Sims, and a few other “do it yourself” games. In order to mate, there is a mating dance. Pretty creative. Launching in Holiday 2006.
Now we are moving on to entertainment, starting with Xbox Live Marketplace. There are over 18 million downloads since the launch, and as of tonight, there are over 1000 pieces of content. Every Xbox 360 developer has a piece of content on the Marketplace.
Xbox Live Marketplace changes the way people buy games. When Fight Night was demoed, pre-orders increased by 5x. Marketplace also provies true episodic content and opens a world of true digital entertainment. Tonight, you can download high definition show content, Gears of War Race to E3. It starts on Xbox Live, and ends next week with an MTV special.
Xbox 360 HD DVD player will be available this holiday. No price yet? What’s the deal?
I think it’s time for Halo 3…Moore is teasing us, and I think he has another tatoo. “Some guys do rubber ducks. Some guys do tatoos.” I was wrong, it’s time for Grand Theft Auto IV, which hits Xbox 360 on October 16th, 2006. He said nothing about exclusivity, but it is available on the platform on day one. Rockstar will also be providing exclusive episodic content on Xbox Live.
Moving on to Vista. The most game-friendly OS in history. Games for Windows is the new unified brand. Now showing trailer for PC game Crysis. Gameplay looked great, and it was running on Windows XP. We now change it up and take a look at DirectX 10 gaming on Windows Vista…and everyone is absolutely floored. Flight Simulator X and Crysis look photorealistic. One word here, folks: Wow. Vista is built to run games, and will be the single biggest launch in Microsoft’s history.
On to Oblivion, it sold 1.7 million copies in 3 weeks. Joint release for Xbox 360 and PC. Today they are announcing two more joint release games that will be released on both platforms, offering gamers a choice. The first is Shadowrun, which looks to provide a high-level depth of gaming. Launches with Vista in January. The other game is called Alan Wake, and it looks like a high-level survival-horror/thriller. A psychological action thriller.
Bill Gates hits the stage, and talks about Xbox 360’s global presence. By the end of June, between 5-5.5 million consoles will have been shipped.
Before others enter the marketplace, Xbox 360 will have a 10 million unit head start.
Just announced: Live Anywhere. Built-in to Vista, but will also be on cell phones, Xbox 360, etc. Have your Live account on all your devices, giving you one Gamertag that you can use across multiple platforms. Sounds like you can play games on Windows Mobile, and use your Gamertag and possibly even earn achievements. “Start a game on Xbox, continue it on the phone. Maybe schedule your Xbox to download something from your phone while you are away.” Moving from Live, to Live Anywhere.
We are given a demo of how this all might work. This stuff is going to be a big deal - we will have a video up later this evening. For now, know that Xbox Live’s experience will be fully realized on mobile phones, Windows Vista, and the Xbox 360.
I think it’s now Halo time. The crowd is going nuts. Halo 3 looks insane. The storyline will rock…but everyone wants to see multiplayer. It’s coming in 2007.
Final Fantasy III: DS vs Original
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Nintendo DS, Retro, Role Playing Games, Screenshots,
An enterprising poster in the Dreamwiz forums has put up a image detailing the differences between Final Fantasy III on the DS and the NES release. The differences are quite striking when one can compare the two directly, and despite the relatively low quality of the scans, the game appears to be close to its next generation counterparts in graphical quality.
While previous re-releases in the series have been straight ports, the DS version of the game will be an upgrade, with everything moving to 3-D. There have also been rumors that the touch screen interface will be used in the game as well, signifying a possibly gameplay update, and other rumors suggest some kind of wireless play.
Squaresoft is targeting a Summer 2006 release for the game in Japan. No US release has been announced, but it is hard to imagine a modern Final Fantasy release not making its way to North America.
Read More | Dreamwiz.com
Power Stone Collection Preview
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Action, Fighting, PSP, Retro, Screenshots,
Capcom showed off some video of Power Stone Collection for the PSP in February, showing off the classic gameplay of the Dreamcast game in portable form. IGN recently got some hands-on time with a playable preview of the game, and post some impressions.
The game does seem to capture the essence of the Power Stone series, albeit with some scale down for the PSP and its smaller screen. “Collection” means that both the original Power Stone and its sequel are included. Part of the most addicting part of the series was multiplayer; the four-player madness of Power Stone 2 made the game an exceptional party game, and it looks like gamers will be able to play with up to four players via the ad-hoc wireless connection. Capcom also thought to include game sharing, so not everyone will need their own copy of the game to play.
Read More | IGN PSP
Gamers who cut their teeth on games of the early 90s will probably remember Another World, called Out of this World when published in the United States. The game was extremely unique for its time (and some might argue that it still is.) The game environment captivated its audience through its stark alien landscapes, and its look, created from two-dimensional polygons instead of the sprite graphics used by most games of the era. The game tightly integrated story and gameplay, blending the two masterfully. Another World was published on most of the popular platforms of the time, including the Amiga, PC, Genesis, and Super Nintendo. Most recently, the game’s creator, Eric Chahi, gave his blessing for a non-commercial Gameboy Advance version by Foxysoft.
But April 14 will bring the release of a remastered edition of the game for Windows XP, in higher resolution and with more detailed background, this time developed by its original creator. On Anotherworld.fr, there are also hints of an entirely new game in the works.
Read More | Announcement at Idlethumbs.net
Read More | Anotherworld.fr
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