Fabled Lightsaber Game Under Consideration
When the Wii was announced and motion controlled gaming became a reality, every nerd thought the same thing at some point, “I canz have lightsaber game now?” Well, that game was talked about and talked about but it never saw the light of day. Now, however, Darnell Rodriguez states to MCV that new motion control technology may allow for the fabled lightsaber game to soon see fruition.
“I’m very excited by the new interfaces, either Natal, Move or iPad. It’s something we’re definitely watching and we will consider in the future,” Rodriguez told MCV. “The regular suggestion of a lightsaber game is one of the reasons why we are excited about it — but we’ll keep looking at it and see what we can do.”
GameStop: Leak Any More Stuff And You’re Grounded, Mister
Yesterday must have been a frustrating day for GameStop. An anonymous employee leaked an image of a point-of-purchase display showing the new black Wii, along with instructions that the poster was to be held until May 4. Earlier rumors from Target, GameStop and Future Shop had placed the US release of the console at May 9. Looks like they were accurate.
GameStop, perhaps understandably, are a little annoyed about this, so they enlisted their most “with-it and hip” executive to rebuke their employees via email. Hit the jump to find out more.
Wii Comes Back in Black Next Month?
While those in Japan and Europe have been able to pick up the Wii in a darker shade since last year, Nintendo of America seems to have finally gotten the message. According to leaked GameStop advertising picked up by Kotaku, Nintendo will release the Wii in black starting next month.
The black Wii will be sold as a part of a new bundle, including the console, a Wii Remote, a Nunchuk, a Wii MotionPlus, and copies of both Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort, all for the console’s standard $199.99 MSRP. It’ll also be available in white, and looks to be Nintendo’s response to those clamoring for a price drop.
Still, while the Wii’s traditionally major sales remain stable entering 2010, and Nintendo has traditionally successfully boosted sales of their console using just a few shades of the rainbow, one has to wonder if finally releasing the console in a color first announced back in 2005 will cut it with consumers anymore.
More after the break.
Nier Leads Japanese Chart
The PS3 version of Square Enix’s Nier debuted atop the Japanese software chart during the week ended April 25.
The game managed 60,000 sales, more than double the total of second-placed New Super Mario Bros. Wii, while the Xbox 360 edition of Nier came in at 11, moving les than 12,000 copies.
Three other new titles made the top ten, including The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition at nine.
01. Nier Replicant (PS3) - 60,000 / New
Designing Sin & Punishment 2 for Different Controllers
The latest “Iwata Asks” column on Nintendo.com revealed some interesting tidbits about the design of Sin & Punishment: Star Successor. These are particularly centered on the control interface and difficulty.
A major problem during development was that the Wii Remote’s accuracy and sensitivity was making the game too easy. “It turns out that with the Wii Remote it’s easier to aim, so you totally clean house,” said director Atsutomo Nakagawa.
Software planner Yurie Hattori during the interview talked about how the original Sin & Punishment: Successor to the Earth was too hard for her. “I had voiced my concern over the fact that even I could clear it without losing once,” she said of Star Successor.
Developer Treasure is a group known for the high difficulty of its games, and they knew fans of Treasure and Successor of the Earth wouldn’t accept Star Successor’s surprisingly low difficulty. It turned out that the problem was that they had mistakenly still designed the game around an analog stick.
Wii Remote Prototype Mystery Solved
A Japanese business magazine editor’s new book on Nintendo has solved at least one mystery about a particular prototype design for what became the Wii Remote.
Just a month or so after the Wii’s November 2006 launch, Japan’s Nikkei Business Magazine revealed some early prototypes for its controller. As expected, they shared the final design’s remote shape – except a few, with one particular exception.
One design was just an orange disc with a star in the middle surrounded by three small buttons. For three years theorists have wondered if Nintendo ever actually meant to design that as the controller for the Wii. Apparently, yes they did, briefly.
PS3 Linux class action lawsuit coming at ya
Looks like Sony now finds itself on the business end of a class-action lawsuit. You’ll recall that a recent PS3 firmware update removed the “Other OS” option from the console, preventing owners from installing Linux (which was one of the selling points when the PS3 first came out in 2006). The removal upset one California gentleman, who filed suit with the note “Sony’s decision to force users to disable the Other OS function was based on its own interest and was made at the expense of its customers.”
The lawsuit seeks “damages for Plaintiff and each class member, including but not limited to compensatory damages; restitution; injuctive relief; attorneys’ fees; and the cost of this suit.” To put an actual number here, we’re looking at at least $5 million should the class win.
You’re part of the class if you bought a PS3 between the day of its launch and March 27, 2010.
Sony hasn’t said anything about the lawsuit yet. It removed the “Other OS” option to “ensure that PS3 owners will continue to have access to the broad range of gaming and entertainment content from SCE and its content partners on a more secure system.” Sony was basically afraid that people were going to use “Other OS” to crack the PS3 wide open. So far, it’s not possible to play backed-up PS3 games (whereas it’s pretty damn easy to play backed-up Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii games).
‘Swords’ is a Wii game about swords
If using the Wii Remote and MotionPlus to control a sword sounds like the sword of thing you’d be into, you should consider Majesco’s new game Swords — because that’s basically the whole game.
Swords, developed by Panic Button, is a time-traveling arena combat game in which you fight sword practitioners from different cultures and time periods, including a Viking and Sir Lancelot. Then, having sufficiently disrupted the timeline, you take a new sword from your defeated opponent Mega Man-style, using its new abilities against your next historical adversary. When not hacking away at people, you can train with your sensei or perform drills — like fighting zombies.
If the idea of a MotionPlus-based lightsaber dueling game excites you, this seems like a pretty close substitute. Plus, it’s got the most hilariously straightforward title in recent memory. Swords will be thrust into stores this September.
‘Swords’ is a Wii game about swords originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Boy Scouts of America introduce video game belt loop and academics pins
We were hoping that earning a merit badge in “video games” would involve something a bit more video gamey than explaining “why it is important to have a rating system for video games,” or working to create “a schedule for you to do things that includes your chores, homework, and video gaming.” But that’s exactly what the Boy Scouts of America requires of its young padawans to get a belt loop in the subject. Well, in fairness, you also have to “play a new video game that is approved by your parent, guardian, or teacher.” Finally, some actual game playing!
For the Tiger, Cub, and Webelos Scouts looking for something a bit more daring, the more prestigious academics pin can be earned by jumping through several more elaborate hoops (as well as requiring the aforementioned belt loop). Five out of nine potential requirements must be completed, with one that involves a bit of practice in critical writing. “Compare two game systems (for example, Microsoft Xbox, Sony PlayStation, Nintendo Wii, and so on). Explain some of the differences between the two. List good reasons to purchase or use a game system.” Presumably, writing “I like PS3 the best cuz Wee and 360 R teh suxxorz” isn’t an acceptable comparative essay. Aspiring Scouts can peep the whole list of requirements for each real life Cheevo just after the break.
[Via Engadget]
Continue reading Boy Scouts of America introduce video game belt loop and academics pins
Boy Scouts of America introduce video game belt loop and academics pins originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 01:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Research: Nintendo’s Wii Strongest Gaming Brand
Nintendo’s Wii is the most valuable brand in gaming, growing its worth by 21 percent in brand valuation year over year while the DS lost some of its brand power, says a new study from communications research agency Millward Brown Optimor. The firm’s fifth annual BrandZ Top 100 ranking of the world’s most powerful brands found that Wii led the gaming category with brand valuation of $10 billion, taking over the number one spot from …
