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E3 2007: Nintendo’s Press Conference Recap And Impressions

Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Action, Adventure, CAPCOM, Casual, Corporate News, Driving, E3, Electronic Arts, First Person Shooters, Internet, Music, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Party Games, Puzzle, Release Dates, Retro, Sports, Trailers, Virtual Console, Wii,

As with the Microsoft conference before it, I was confined to my hotel Wi-Fi to take in Nintendo’s E3 press conference. But, unlike Microsoft’s, I’m walking away thoroughly and utterly disappointed. I’m going to go ahead and spoil part of the full story from after the break: there was no mention of Smash Bros. being online. Me = worried much.

Set your expectations low before you view the rest after the break.

Click to continue reading E3 2007: Nintendo’s Press Conference Recap And Impressions

The Min-E3 2007 Games Lineup

Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Activision, CAPCOM, E3, Eidos, Electronic Arts, LucasArts, Microsoft, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Portable/Mobile, PSP, SEGA, Take2, THQ, Ubisoft, Wii, Xbox 360,

E3 logo Sure, the convention is much smaller this year and all, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a ton of games to be seen. Eurogamer has posted a list of the announced lineups and then some of what you’ll be seeing at E3. Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony have been quiet on what they’ll be showing, so it looks like we’ll need to wait until their respective showings to know for sure. The event is taking place next week, so expect it to be a busy week in news.

But please, please, please, Nintendo, show me Animal Crossing Wii. Something. Anything. Please?

Nearly 14-Year-Old Games Getting Remakes: Myst DS Edition

Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Adventure, Nintendo DS,

I have fond memories of first popping Myst into my computer’s CD-ROM drive (oh, how exciting it was at the time!) and exploring its incredible world. While it was only a point-and-click adventure, it still was incredible for its time. It was an experience, to be sure. And for the record, I’ve beaten it more than once - the fair way.

So imagine my surprise when my eyes came upon a press release stating that Myst was getting a remake, DS-style. The game is bound to have a pretty limited appeal, despite the fact that it’s being rebuilt specifically for the DS – a system that is simply the perfect platform for a game of this ilk. Fans will be excited to hear that a new age, known as the RIME Age, will make its way into the game.

While the press release has a sentence that might be a punch to the gut to many gaming fans – “Unlike most adventure games, Myst offers no inventory, no death, and no dialogue.” – it’s something that you really need to play to appreciate.

More Than 5 Million Gamers Have Used DS’ Wi-Fi Service

Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Corporate News, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Wireless,

Nintendo DS Lite Since its launch in November 2005, over five million DS owners have connected to the dual-screened system’s online gaming service. More than 60 games make use of it, some even featuring VoIP communication – most notably, the recent Pokemon Diamond/Pearl. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime is excited with the news, stating, “The milestones represent millions of hours of fun and camaraderie despite miles between players.”

Reggie also went on to tout the fact that it’s a free service that allows for global competition. He didn’t happen to mention the inevitable frustration the system’s friend codes have caused, but we’ll let that slide for now, especially when you look at the figure for total number games played: more than 200 million.

Finally, A New Geometry Wars Is Coming

Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Action, Nintendo DS, Strategy, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade,

Geometry Wars, for those who haven’t had an opportunity to play it, is a very simple game to describe: it’s like Asteroids on crack. With neon lights. And a lot more enemies. It’s super addictive, and has been the prized jewel of the Xbox Live Arcade since its release - many even considered it the best title available on the Xbox 360, retail or otherwise. Fans have been begging for a sequel, and they’re getting it, sorta – Geometry Wars: Galaxies is in development and is headed exclusively to the Wii and DS.

For everyone who owns a platform other than an Xbox 360 (those guys and girl had their heads explode after reading that exclusive bit), the two titles were confirmed in the latest issue of Nintendo Power. The game is taking the classic “in a new direction” – expect an extensive campaign and multiplayer. They will each take advantage of the respective system’s features.

The original Retro Evolved game will be included as well, making this one incredible package. Both games are being developed by Battalion Wars developer Kuju, and should see release sometime this fall.

Gamefly Adds Fast East Coast Shipping, More Availability Info

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Corporate News, Culture, Hot Deals, Internet,

Living in SF, I’ve never had a problem with the turn-around times for getting new games from Gamefly. Since it only takes about 3 days between sending in my played games and getting my next game, I’ve found the 3-game plan to be more than worth its cost. Still, Gamefly was hampered by the fact that it only had one shipping facility, in Los Angeles, CA. That all changed this past week when Gamefly opened up their second shipping facility in Pittsburgh, PA. This warehouse will serve the east coast and some inland states, including “CT, DC, DE, IN, KY, MD, MI, NC, OH, PA, RI, TN, VA, and VW (sic)”. I can only assume that VW stands for Vest Wirginia.

In addition, Gamefly has been adding several other tweaks to their website, including an improved “availability” ranking in your GameQ. Items in your Q will now show whether the availability is “Now” (will ship immediately), or “High”, “Medium” or “Low”, or “Very Low”. High means there’s a 75% chance that your game will be available to ship, Medium 50%-75%, and Low 25%-50%, and Very Low 0%-25%.

Finally, Gamefly appears to be doing some work on improving their web interface. Games in your Q will now display a blue “In Q” button (instead of the standard “Rent it!” button) if a game is already in your Q. Unfortunately, the “In Q” button only shows up when you navigate to the specific game page, and does not appear on any list pages (a la NetFlix). Clicking on the “Rent it!” button for a game already in your Q still results in the annoying “This game is already in your Q!” pop-up box, but hopefully they’ll be fixing that soon.

Overall, some much welcomed improvements! Now, just find a way to ship me Guitar Hero 2 for rental, and I’ll be a happy camper 😉

Rumor: Blockbuster To Start Renting DS Games

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Rumors,

Blockbuster Logo Given that the little-two-screened-handheld that could has been topping the sales charts these days, I don’t see why Blockbuster hadn’t thought of this earlier… if current rumors prove true, then the video-rental mega-chain will start renting DS games in the near future. The rental price is rumored to be $4.99 for a week, which isn’t a terrible deal compared with services like Gamefly. Of course, if their DS selection ends up being anything like what I’ve seen for their other console selections, Blockbuster might not be your best bet for getting the latest, hottest games.

Blockbuster stopped renting GBA carts years ago, due to problems with renters removing the chips inside the cartridges and replacing them with less desirable games. However, this seems like something that should be easy enough to test these days (and charge to the credit card of the offender!).

Nintendo Developing 45 Wii Games, 79 DS Titles(!!?)

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Rumors, Wii,

Tons o' games According to a report on Bloomberg that’s getting a lot of attention, Nintendo is working on at least 45 titles for the Wii (we’re assuming first-party?), and 79 titles for the DS. That’s a number that sounds pretty darn exciting.

Still, other than that, the report is VERY short on details. For instance, are these titles that are slated for release, or are they along the lines of tech demos and test concepts? Are they first-party titles, or does the count include properties being developed by second-party firms, under the auspices of Nintendo? When will these games be released… is this the one-year outlook for Nintendo first-party titles, or are they looking further ahead? And most importantly of all, why the heck hasn’t Nintendo announced some titles and/or concepts for these games in order to drum up a little excitement?

You’ll excuse us if we don’t get too excited just yet… after all, I was pretty excited after hearing about Sadness, and look what that’s gotten me.

Nintendo Has Record Year on DS, Wii Sales

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, Hardware, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Wii,

Nintendo just announced their financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007, and the numbers are huge. Revenues are up 90% to 996.5 billion yen, over $8 billion US. Profits are also up, nearly 150% to 226 billion yen, nearly $2 billion in profit.

Nintendo moved over 23 million DS handhelds, just an insane number, along with 5.84 million Wii consoles. The Wii number seems to be short of Nintendo’s projections of 6 million units—this would seem to point to a genuine supply constraint on Nintendo’s part. Some analysts had suspected that Nintendo was holding back shipments of the Wii because Nintendo had “made their numbers” but Nintendo’s results would seem to indicate that this was not the case.

Nintendo’s projections have them selling 14 million Wii consoles in the upcoming fiscal year, and 22 million DS handhelds. 22 million would seem to be a conservative estimate, given their strong sales from the previous year. 14 million Wii consoles moved, though, would seem to indicate a fairly decent ramp up in Wii production in order to meet their targets. Overall, though, the console that both Sony and Microsoft dismissed seems to be poised to challenge for the lead in worldwide sales.

Nintendo’s full press release continues below

Click to continue reading Nintendo Has Record Year on DS, Wii Sales

Nintendo To Have Booth At Tokyo Game Show

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Role Playing Games, Square Enix,

Dragon Quest XI Website Kotaku is indicating that in contrast to past shows, Nintendo will be exhibiting at the upcoming Tokyo Game Show. Typically the company has maintained its own separate shows, preferring to have an exclusive arena to advertise their upcoming software and hardware. This year, though, will apparently bring Nintendo to the show floor; according to Kotaku, the company is committing to this presence largely due to Square Enix showing off Dragon Quest IX for the Nintendo DS. This huge event, apparently, is enough to overcome Nintendo’s general avoidance of the show; having Nintendo and the latest Dragon Quest at the show may mean mayhem for show attendees.

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