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Fatal Frame Sequel Coming to Wii
Posted by Steve Van Neil Categories: Action, Survival Horror, Wii,
Tecmo has announced that the next installment of its Fatal Frame horror series is in development for the Wii. The earlier games didn’t sell especially well upon release but have amassed a sizable cult following, or so I gather from the growing number of GameStops that have been unable to sell me a copy over the years. Now, with the burgeoning Wii phenomenon upon us, Tecmo has seen a way to give its underexposed franchise a second chance. You can certainly see where Tecmo is coming from, as snapping photos of ghosts is a staple game mechanic of the series, one that seems like a perfect fit for the Wii’s motion controls.
Interestingly, Tecmo has enlisted Grasshopper Manufacture to produce the game; Grasshopper is the studio behind Killer 7 and next year’s sure-to-be-bizarre Wii actioner, No More Heroes. Tecmo has remained mum on the subject of release dates, but for now just add Fatal Frame to the growing list of promising third-party Wii games.
Read More 
| 1UP
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Castlevania Creator Talks About What’s Next For the Series
Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Action, Adventure, Konami, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360,
Koji Igarashi, creator of the popular Castlevania franchise, is featured in an interview with Game Informer where he talks about what’s next for the series.
[Next,] I will be working on a DS version, but I am thinking of moving to the home consoles for the future. I will continue to use 2D for the DS version, but I’m still trying to figure out which console to do the home console versions. I think the Xbox 360 would be the best platform for the U.S. market.
Another DS Castlevania wasn’t really a bold prediction, but focusing on the 360 is a little unexpected. Igarashi goes on to clarify, “The U.S. market is the biggest market for the Castlevania series, so I will give the first priority to the U.S. market. The platform will be the Xbox 360, since the PS3 isn’t doing well everywhere in the world.” He does later suggest that he thinks Metal Gear Solid 4 could easily increase the PS3 base in the US which would make it more attractive as a target for a Castlevania game.
As for the Wii, which represents an even larger market than 360, Igarashi says he hasn’t quite figured out how to make the gesture controls work with the game saying that the motion for cracking a whip might be too hard on users but some kind of abstraction would be “not so good.” “I will have to think about a way to accomplish this,” he concludes.
Read More | Game Informer
Games With Online Multiplayer Sell More
Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Corporate News, Downloadable Content, Internet, Microsoft, Nintendo, PlayStation 3, Sony, Wii, Xbox 360,
A research paper from Electronic Entertainment Design and Research has been released that suggests that games with online support can be crucial to a game’s retail success. Not surprisingly, another way to boost sales is to create a quality game (defined as those with a 90+ score on Metacritic), with these well-reviewed titles outselling the average release well above 5-to-1.
While making good games typically means making good money, naturally, it is a bit surprising to see the report indicate that sales can be doubled by dropping in an online mode. With online games selling twice the number copies that offline titles do, it’s curious to note that over half of games released don’t offer even basic online support.
Click to continue reading Games With Online Multiplayer Sell More
Read More | Ars Technica
“Trauma Center: New Blood” Premiere Trailer
It looks like the Wii is turning the corner as far as compelling third-party content goes. Joining Zach & Wiki, Manhunt 2, and Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles at the cool kids table in the not-too-distant future is Trauma Center: New Blood, the sequel to the popular medical/supernatural/arm-flailing/impossible-to-categorize DS and Wii game. Hot from the Atlus oven is this premiere trailer, which shows off more of that cool anime-inspired character design, a brand new co-op mode, as well as some pretty stilted voice acting. Looks like a must-buy. What other game lets you draw five-pointed stars on an unconscious patient’s gaping wound to keep him from flatlining?
The Wii-exclusive Trauma Center: New Blood is slated to come out this holiday season.
Read More | IGN
MarioKart on Wii Supports 16 Players Online
Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Driving, Internet, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Wii,
Nintendo‘s popular arcadey racing game, Mario Kart is inevitably coming to the Wii. When it does, a blurb clipped from the Official Nintendo Magazine UK says it will support 16 players in the popular battle mode.
Mario Kart DS solidified the WiFi features of the handheld unit and it’s quite possible that the Wii version is being positioned to do the same.
As with earlier versions the Wii Mario Kart will include updated versions of older tracks (in this case Wii translations of DS tracks) as well as all new racing locations. Mario Kart for the Wii is scheduled to be released next spring.
Read More | Go Nintendo via Evil Avatar
Xbox Live Arcade and Virtual Console Releases This Week
Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Virtual Console, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade,
There are six new games to choose from this week on Xbox Live Arcade and Virtual Console, though none of them are original games (which you expect from VC but even XBLA is arcade ports this week). Plus, most of this week’s games are relatively inexpensive with one exception.
Games this week include Bonk 3: Bonk’s Big Adventure, Adventure Island, Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole, Donkey Kong Jr. Math, Cyberball 2072 and Fatal Fury Special. Details for the releases are below.
Click to continue reading Xbox Live Arcade and Virtual Console Releases This Week
Read More | Nintendo Press Release
Bloomberg: Wii Still Dominant in Japan
Posted by Steve Van Neil Categories: Corporate News, Culture, Hardware, Microsoft, Nintendo, PlayStation 3, Sony, Wii, Xbox 360,
In what has become a regular occurrence, Nintendo’s Wii handily outsold its closest console competition three-to-one in Japan for the month of August. However, it is interesting to note that the gap between the Wii and PS3 has lessened. In June, Nintendo’s console outsold the PS3 six-to-one and four-to-one in June and July, respectively.
Bloomberg reported the final August numbers as follows: Wii at 245,653, PS3 at 81,541, and the Xbox 360 lagging behind at around 11,000. The Wii’s August numbers bring the console to a whopping 3.4 million units sold in that country since its launch last year.
Read More | Next Generation
Guitar Hero III’s Wii Online Woes
Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Music, Nintendo, Wii,
Despite Nintendo packaging the Wii as an internet-ready and capable device, they seem to still drag their feet whenever it comes to online gaming. The latest evidence of this is the eerie quiet surrounding the online features of the upcoming Guitar Hero III, broken by The Bits Bytes Pixels and Sprites when they contacted a Red Octane PR specialist, Bryan Lam about what Guitar Hero III will be like online with the Wii. He distressingly told BBPS, “We’re working closely with Nintendo for an online solution, though at the moment we’re unable to confirm the status of the online multi-player.”
Considering the other GHIII versions are all set to have online modes and there ought not to be any technical hurdles, this can really only mean Nintendo is having a hard time letting go of the secret to their ultimate online strategy which is so secret not even the consumers can figure out what it is. Online versus and co-op modes may be bad enough as possible omissions from the Wii version, but a follow-up from BBPS suggests that the same hurdles exist for downloadable content as well. While it’s difficult to determine why Nintendo would want to feature-deprive third party developers from online action, it’s even less comprehensible why they would cut off money-making endeavors like song packs as well.
Read More | The Bits Bytes Pixels and Sprites via 4 Color Rebellion
Monster Lab - New Wii Action RPG Revealed
Posted by Steve Van Neil Categories: Action, Adventure, Eidos, Nintendo, Role Playing Games, Screenshots, Wii,
What’s this now? A third-party Wii game that (a) isn’t a lazy PS2 port and (b) actually looks pretty cool? Yes, it looks like Zach and Wiki will have some company on the Wii in the near future. Backbone, the developers of Death Jr. for the PSP, are cooking up a brand new IP exclusively for Nintendo’s Wii. Monster Lab is a story-driven Action RPG that’s all about customization. Indeed, the object of the game is to build, enhance, and accesorize monsters to fight against each other in turn-based combat. The Wii’s motion control comes into play in the creation process through minigames, where players will throw brains into empty heads, hoping to maximize their monster’s power. On hand to make sure that it all doesn’t devolve into complete minigame aimlessness is comic book writer Adam Beechen, who is scripting the game.
The very promising Monster Lab will be published by Eidos and is being groomed for a Summer 2008 release.
Read More | NeoGAF
Console Downloads: Super Street Fighter Puzzle HD Remix
Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: CAPCOM, Downloadable Content, Platformers, Puzzle, Role Playing Games, SEGA, Virtual Console, Wii, Xbox Live Arcade,
This week on XBox Live Arcade comes the anticipated and graphically enhanced arcade cult classic Super Street Fighter Puzzle HD Remix. In addition to upping the graphical fidelity on the game, Capcom has also rebalanced the game with the new X’ mode, although the original version will also be available. The game will cost 800 Microsoft Points.
On Wii‘s Virtual Console this week seems to be sequel week, with the Contra sequel Super C (previously available on XBox Live Arcade) for 500 Wii Points, the SNES role-playing classic Breath of Fire II for 800 Wii Points and the Sega Genesis version of Ghouls n’ Ghosts, the follow-up to Ghosts n’ Goblins for another 800 Wii Points.
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