Wiiva la Revolution!! {News Topic}

[kostacurtas]

Sega head: Wii is “great opportunity for hitting hardcore gamers”

 

Speaking to VentureBeat, Sega US president Simon Jeffery has said he believes no oneʼs satisfying the Wii-owning hardcore. We have a hunch he may be right.

 

“The Wii is a great opportunity for hitting hardcore gamers,” he said. “No one is doing that.

 

“With “Mad World” from Platinum Games, we are trying to show that millions of Wii games want to move on to mature games. They donʼt have to have an Xbox 360 to do that.”

 

Itʼs not just the hardcore stuff lacking on Wii, though. Thereʼs “good” games in general.

 

“There is a lot of crap coming out for the Wii in general,” Jeffery added. “But if itʼs not a good game, it doesnʼt sell. That flood of crap will die down as publishers become more coherent.”

 

More through the link.

[kostacurtas]

July NPD - Official Figures Released

 

NPD just published the official US hardware and software figures for July. As you can, DS and Wii destroyed the competition yet again, with the two Nintendo consoles selling over a million units in America last month.

 

 

Hardware

• Nintendo DS - 608.4K
  
• Wii - 555K
  
• PlayStation 3 - 224.9K
  
• PlayStation Portable - 221.7K
  
• Xbox 360 - 204.8K
  
• Playstation 2 - 155.5K
  

 

Software

 

1. NCAA Football 09 (EA, 360) - 397.6K

2. Wii Fit (Nintendo, Wii) - 369.6K

3. Guitar Hero: On Tour (Activision, DS) - 309.7K

4. Wii Play (Nintendo, Wii) - 284K

5. NCAA Football 09 (EA, PS3) - 242.5K

6. Soulcalibur IV (Namco, 360) - 218.9K

7. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo, Wii) - 174.5K

8. Rock Band Special Edition Bundle (EA, Wii) - 165.8K

9. Soulcalibur IV (EA, PS3) - 155.8K

10. Sid Meierʼs Civilization Revolution (Take-Two, 360) - 147.6K

 

 

General

 

Dollar Sales Jul-07 Jul-08 CHG YTD July 07 YTD July 08 CHG

Games $926.2M $1.19B 28% $7.03B $9.47B 35%

Hardware $381M $446.9M 17% $2.72B $3.33B 22%

Software $419.6M $591.1M 41% $3.31B $4.9B 48%

Accessories $125.6M $149.1M 19% $987.5M $1.24B 26%

 

 

 

Nintendo responds to effortless July NPD

 

Nintendo products kept people entertained in July, whether they wanted to get fit, rock out or just play around. According to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States, Nintendo DS™ and Wii™ again claimed the top two hardware spots for July, with more than 608,000 DS units and more than 555,000 Wii units sold. Wii claimed a 49 percent share of all console sales in July, and extended its lead as the best-selling console of this generation. Nintendo DS represented a 73 percent share of hand-held sales in July.

 

Five games made for Nintendo systems placed in the top 10 best-selling games of the month, including Wii Fit™, with 369,603 units sold at No. 2; Guitar Hero®: On Tour for Nintendo DS, with 309,695 units sold at No. 3; Wii Play™, with 284,035 units sold at No. 4; Mario Kart® Wii, with 174,464 units sold at No. 7; and Rock Band for Wii, with 162,886 units sold at No. 8.

 

“Great hardware goes hand-in-hand with great software,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of Americaʼs executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Various types of games for the Nintendo systems are represented in the top 10, demonstrating how we continue to break down the barriers between veteran and new players.”

[heyou]

Το Wii έχει γινει πλεον gadget της μοδας οποτε το αγοράζουν ολοι.

Αυτό δεν ειναι απαραιτητα άσχημο διότι διασκεδάζουν και άνθρωποι που δε θα αγόραζαν ποτέ κονσόλα.

 

Εδω το playstation 2 το έδιναν με συνδέσεις internet...

[gherudos]

[Ειρωνία]Ανυπομονώ να έρθει η 3η Νοέμβρη για να αγοράσω το Wii Music!!!![/Ειρωνία]

[kostacurtas]

Disaster: Day of Crisis lives, Classified in Australia

 

When it was announced earlier in the year that Disaster: Day of Crisis was pulled from the release schedule in Japan a mere month before it was due for release, many thought it was heading the way of Project H.A.M.M.E.R- cancelled. But all hope may not be gone for the title which was first revealed all the way back at E3 2006. The game has just been classified by the Australian Classification Board and given a big fresh M for Violence, themes and infrequent coarse language. So itʼs nothing big but could Disaster be filling in a Holiday gap this year?

 

 

 

 

Kore - First Screens, Videos

 

First Videos

 

Ingame

Trailer

Voices

 

 

 

 

Boogie SuperStar Hands-on

We boogie down with EA's casual sequel.

 

Electronic Arts' singing and dancing extravaganza, Boogie, is returning this year, although it has received a considerable makeover. Instead of controlling strange blob characters, Boogie SuperStar is populated entirely by cartoon tweens. This one is aimed squarely at the young girl demographic and is full of teeny bopper music and fashions. The developers say they are trying to empower these girls by allowing them to express themselves and come up with their own dance routines. Up to four players will be able to vogue at the same time...

 

 

 

 

Celebrity Sports Showdown Preview

Your celebrity obsession comes to the Wii.

 

America is obsessed with celebrities. We need to see pictures of celebrity babies, read about their relationship troubles, and pit them against each other in inner-tube death matches. Serving the latter category, Celebrity Sports Showdown is here. The game includes 10 rich and famous people duking it out in 12 events. Part of Electronic Arts' casual lineup (from the makers of EA Playground), the controls are motion-based and everything has a cartoonish presentation...

 

[nkarafo]

Διαλέγετε είτε κανονικής ποιότητας, είτε HD.

 

[gt]38410[/gt]

[kostacurtas]

Capcom vs. Tatsunoko Might Be Wii Bound

 

Capcom may just be sending the spiritual sequel to the Nintendo Wii with balance board use. According to a Japanese website it has listed the game for the Nintendo Wii.

 

The game sees characters from the Capcom franchise versus off against those from the Tatsunoko franchise.

 

Now the Capcom franchise is well known through out the world containing characters from Street Fighter, Megaman, Resident Evil, Okami and much more. The Tatsunoko franchise however more known in Japan will contain characters from Japanese anime shows that are a huge success in Japan such as Yatterman and Golden Warrior Gold Lightan.

 

Would this game ever be localised though? With half the characters being Japan known only it seems very unlikely we would see this game that if did head to the Nintendo Wii would be our own version of Street Fighter.

 

Characters Confirmed:

 

Capcom Side:

• Ryu
  
• Chun-Li
  
• Batsu Ichimonji
  
• Alex
  
• Morrigan Aensland
  
• Sōki
  

Tatsunoko Side:

• Ken the Eagle
  
• Casshan
  
• Tekkaman
  
• Yatterman-1
  
• Hurricane Polymar
  
• Gold Lightan
  

[kostacurtas]

IGN Interviews Krome Studios

CEO Robert Walsh talks Force Unleashed, Clone Wars, Wii MotionPlus, 2009, and future Wii projects.

 

IGN recently had a chance to sit down and have a nice long face-to-face chat with the overlord, supreme ruler, president, co-founder, and CEO (also, we're pretty sure he does some art, programming, producing, and marketing, just to pad the "job title stats" a bit) of Krome Studios, Robert Walsh. Hot off the heels of an impressive E3, Walsh talks on Force Unleashed, Clone Wars, the company's big break with Scene it! on 360, some new Wii titles in the future, and the continuing talks with LucasArts on Wii MotionPlus for future, unannounced 2009 and beyond titles. How has this year shaped up for Krome? What's the relationship like between Australia's biggest independent developer and entertainment powerhouse LucasArts? What does 2009 hold? Walsh talks all this - and more - below...

 

 

 

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for Wii - Updated Impressions

As sexy as Leia and as suave as Lando?

 

Over the course of its development, much of the focus for The Force Unleashed has been on the PS3 and 360 versions, what with their newfangled technologies and hyper-bump-vertex-pixel-mapped-real-time surfaces. But what about the humble Wii? Not only is it a more than capable machine, it has a level of tactility in control that no other system does.

 

Enter Krome, the Australian studio that is heading up the Wii version of The Force Unleashed. We dropped by its offices recently to have a chat about the game and go hands-on with the first four levels or so...

 

 

 

Swords & Soldiers Announced

New WiiWare From the makers of the original de Blob.

 

The developers of the original version of 'de Blob' announce their new game studio Ronimo Games and their first title: Swords & Soldiers.

 

Ronimo Games is founded by seven developers in Utrecht, the Netherlands. As students the team was responsible for the original pc game 'de Blob.' Being an innovative and fun game, 'de Blob' became popular on the internet and was eventually picked up by THQ. The publisher bought the IP and will soon release the new version of 'de Blob' for Nintendo Wii.

 

Fabian Akker, one of the co-founders: "de Blob was the eye opener for us, that we can make cool games and function as a good team. The game definitely gave us the opportunity to start our own company".

 

The team is developing a new game for WiiWare: Swords & Soldiers. Swords & Soldiers is a sidescrolling real time strategy game, in which three distinct factions battle for the powers of the gods. The game will feature a single player campaign and a competitive splitscreen multiplayer mode as well as several other game modes. Three screenshots are included with this press release.

Akker: "We always dreamed of designing an RTS and when Wii Ware came out we immediately figured that this was our chance."

 

Swords & Soldiers will be the first competitive strategy game on Wii Ware and is scheduled for European, Australian and American release in Q4 2008.

 

[kostacurtas]

Interview - High Voltage Software

 

I recently got a chance to chat with Eric Nofsinger from High Voltage Software about their upcoming Wii title, The Conduit...

[kostacurtas]

Sega to reveal a new Wii title tomorrow

 

We can today announce that Sega will reveal for the first time a new Wii title developed by Headstrong Games tomorrow for Games Convention 2008 event at Leipzig.

 

The game will be shown behind closed doors at the show and we will be there to give you some feedbacks.

 

Stay tuned for updates.

 

 

Η Headstrong Games ειναι η δημιουργος των εξαιρετικων Battalion Wars και Battalion Wars 2.

[kostacurtas]

Lighthouse Interactive to Develop for Nintendo Systems

 

 

Worldwide videogame publisher Lighthouse Interactive, part of SilverBirch Inc.'s videogame division, announced today that it has signed a Publisher License Agreement with Nintendo of Europe GmbH. This allows Lighthouse Interactive to publish and develop products on Wii and Nintendo DS platforms.

 

Steve Wall, Cofounder and Vice President of Lighthouse Interactive said, “This is a significant milestone in the continued growth of the company. It gives us the opportunity to further expand our product catalogue and take Lighthouse Interactive to the next level. We look forward to working with Nintendo.”

[kostacurtas]

The Conduit to be shown at PAX 2008

 

High Voltage Software has announced that the heavily hyped action shooter, The Conduit, will be shown by Nintendo at this yearʼs Penny Arcade Expo which takes place August 29-31 in Seattle.

 

“PAX is jam-packed wall-to-wall with passionate game fans,” High Voltage CEO Eric Nofsinger said.

 

“We are incredibly honoured to be featured there at Nintendoʼs booth. Itʼs a fantastic opportunity for us to receive input and feedback directly from other gamers.”

 

Full release after the drop.

 

 

 

Dead Rising Chop Till You Drop - First Gameplay Trailer

 

[kostacurtas]

The House of the Dead: Overkill

Sega announced The House of the Dead: Overkill, scheduled for 2009 on Wii.

The House of the Dead: OVERKILL charges you with mowing down waves of infected, blood-thirsty zombies in a last-ditch effort to survive Bayou City and uncover the horrific truth behind the origins of The House of the Dead.

 

Survival horror as itʼs never been seen before! A pulp-style take on the classic SEGA light-gun shoot ʽem up franchise. Back when the famous Agent G was still fresh out of the academy, he teamed up with hard-boiled bad-ass Agent Washington to investigate stories of mysterious disappearances in small-town Louisiana. Little did they know what blood-soaked mutant horror would await them in the streets and swamps of Bayou City.

 

Features:

 

• Pulp Funk Horror

Zombie cool, one of the most popular shooter classics injected with a whole new retro b-movie look.

 

• An utterly in-your-face zombie-dismembering blast

Non-stop light-gun style action on Wii, blow apart zombies for high-score thrills.

 

• Superb co-op action on Wii

Bring a friend and play the game as intended in your own buddy action movie as two of the meanest mofos in video gaming.

 

• Relentless, gore-drenched, over-the-top action

Only the coolest, most cold-hearted agentʼs going to keep his head against the zombie flood. Use “Slow-Mofo Time” to make the perfect head-popping shot and “Evil Eye” to spot moments of opportunity thatʼll send the whole environment up in flames.

 

• Wiimote reactions

Get knee-deep in the dead with motion-sensitive Wii-controls. Shuck a shotgun and when the zombies get too close, pistol whip jaws off or cave some heads in with the stock of your pump-action – all in stomach-churning close-up.

 

This trailer is the uncut European version.

 

[kostacurtas]

GC 2008: The House of the Dead: Overkill - Interview

Grindhouse-inspired Wii-exclusive zombie bloodbath from the maker of Battalion Wars.

 

Third-party publisher SEGA on Tuesday revealed The House of the Dead: Overkill, a new Wii-exclusive shooter based on the popular zombie-infested franchise. The title is being developed by Headstrong Games (formerly Kuju; Battalion Wars 1 and 2) and is set for release early next year. The title will be shown for the first time at the Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany later this week, but we've got the scoop on what to expect, including a first look at in-game screens and the world debut trailer...

 

 

 

House of the Dead: Overkill and MadWorld banned from Germany

 

While the latest announcement of House of the Dead: Overkill was an exciting announcement for most, Germany will be missing out on the game. Likewise, the same goes for MadWorld. SEGA delivered a brief press release a short while ago with unfortunate news: House of the Dead Overkill and MadWorld will not head to Germany.

 

The content in both games obviously seem to be preventing a release in Germany but itʼs doubtful SEGA would change the gameplay so that the titles could be released.

[vassilis_pap]

IGN Podcast Summary 19

 

Mario Super Sluggers

- The more you play it, the more you enjoy it - Bozon

- A lot of waggle

- With nunchuck you can aim, becomes a little more fun

- Arcade baseball, fun

 

- IGN exclusives planned throughout the week

 

NPD Data

- Nintendo still on top

- Crazy numbers since July wasnʼt a huge month for Nintendo

- Bozon says that third-party games ARE selling on Wii, he had the numbers right in front of him

- Upward trend with sequels (Madden, Guitar Hero)

- Matt says there are a lot of misconceptions about sales numbers on Wii

- Tiger Woods selling best on Wii

 

- Some talk about Metroid Prime 3, Matt praises its graphics highly - Says art the best on Wii. Galaxy has better tech.

- Bozon thinks he likes Metroid out of the big 3, Matt still sticks by Mario Galaxy - loves music, looks good on the new screen in the IGN demo room

 

EA Studio Showcase

- Talked a lot about casual games and partnerships (such as Grasshopper Manufacture)

- Matt was psyched until he heard that the game isnʼt Wii exclusive

 

Harry Potter for Wii

- Probably wonʼt come out until next year because of movie delay

- IGN team all agree that the game should be delayed until the movie releases

 

Henry Hatsworth

- Both screens work together

- Nice style, plays smoothly

- The game has a lot of personality, carefree

- Matt + Bozon are worried about the level of challenge

- Not releasing until next year

 

Boogie Superstar

- Plays like the first one

- Swing Wiimote in time with the music

 

Celebrity Sports Showdown

- Strange cast of celebrities, competing in random activities

 

Order Up!

- Surprisingly good, fun single-player game

- Over the months, the game got a lot better and more polished

- Blend of Diner Dash and Cooking Mama

 

Dokapon Kingdom

- Rip of Mario Party, but much better than Mario Party

- Board game that you play with the Wiimote, but there are RPG elements

- RPG mechanics instead of mini-games, but it works and itʼs fun

- Matt thinks itʼs surprisingly good

- No IR, no motion, no online

- Play with the Wiimote sideways

 

Overlord games

- One for DS, one for Wii

- New games, spin-offs

- Wii version takes place before the first one

- Releasing in 09

- On DS, only four different minions

 

Swords and Soldiers

- Made from the original creators of de Blob

- “Side-scrolling real-time strategy game”

- Some people think it looks like Castle Crashers

 

Bangai-O Spirits

- Hardcore shooter

- Opposite of most software released on the DS

- Really difficult

 

- Zenses: Rainforest Edition is for the hardcore puzzle fan

 

Rubikʼs World (Wii)

- Running more smoothly now, not as framey and more polished

- Can play with rubikʼs cube, there are variations on it

- There are also other games (puzzles)

- If reasonably priced, it could be a good buy - Matt

- Bozon played the DS version, played multiplayer - Was simple, itʼs another casual game, but cool

- Daemon makes a comment that thereʼs nothing wrong with being casual as long as itʼs done well

 

- Chrono Trigger releasing November 25 for the DS in the US

 

Reader questions

- Capcom or Nintendo advertising Mega Man 9 in any way? Matt + Bozon donʼt really know. Maybe magazine ads.

- What happened to the Kirby game for the Cube? As far as the IGN Nintendo team knows, itʼs still in development. Might see it on Wii in some form or another.

- How often is cleaning day at IGN? Rarely, usually when the company president comes by

- If the IGN team could ban one question on the podcast, what would it be? “Whenʼs Nintendo going to announce their new hardcore game?” “Whereʼs the game Reggie talked about in this interview?” “Why didnʼt Miyamoto show this at E3?”

- Metroid Prime Hunters 2? Havenʼt heard anything, Metroid Prime Hunters sold decently

- Daemon likes Michael Phelps, Bozon isnʼt really in love with him

- Games for a grandma on the DS: My Word Coach, Cooking Mama

- New Headstrong game tomorrow: Matt knows what it is, have known what it is for more than a year, have been talking about it for a while - coverage of the game at 7 AM PST - Itʼs not Zelda 2, Matt says Wii owners will be pleased, but says we should settle down (Bozon says use your brain, itʼs SEGA. Itʼs not Sonic)

- More oldschool games like Mega Man 9? Konami might put something out. Companies probably waiting to see how Mega Man 9 performs.

- Nintendo screwing themselves over by concentrating on casual fans that may forget about them? Matt doesnʼt think so, at least not yet. Casuals buying software that even the traditional gamers buy (ex: Sports games)

- Thoughts on Little Kingʼs Story: Matt and Bozon want to play it, has a lot of potential

- No Double Dragon game since SNES? Canʼt be answered

- Info on new Bond Game? Might be a bad sign that we havenʼt seen it for Wii yet, Matt has no details

- Tales of Symphonia? Will have it playable soon, maybe next week

- Did the Nintendo team see the announcement for Kore on Wii? Art style nice, looks sort of like a basic platforming game but solid. Nothing really Wii-like about it.

- Messed around with Korg DS-10? Full-fledged professional synthesizer, will be lost if youʼre not a musician

- Thoughts on Strong Bad? Took a couple of hours to finish, worth it if youʼre a Homestar fan. Preview of episode 2 this week.

- Godfather II for Wii? Daemon asked EA about it, donʼt have plans to bring the game to Wii

- Any chance of Headstrong Games making Battalion Wars 3? Battalion Wars 2 didnʼt sell too well, donʼt count on it

- Besides LucasArts, are developers talking about using Wii MotionPlus? High Voltage Software seemed excited about it, but are busy with other stuff, probably Tiger. Still canʼt use it as a third-party.

- Gut feeling about Castlevania Judgement? Save money for Order of Ecclesia. Really rough. Thereʼs still time to develop it, though.

- Why doesnʼt Nintendo release schedule for WiiWare/VC games? Wonʼt be happening. Nintendo doesnʼt treat third-parties too well.

- Thoughts about content on the Nintendo Channel? Content is okay, weird that they take down DS demos.

- US release date for Fatal Frame 4? No official release date, Matt still thinks itʼs coming, maybe a Q1 or Q2 title.

- Recommend Disgaea on PSP or DS? Daemon says you should choose the DS version, but get the DS version if you donʼt have a PSP

- Bionic Commando Rearmed awesome or super-awesome? Super-awesome. Nice game all-around

- Best strategy RPG on DS? Disgaea or FF: Tactics for Daemon, Bozon likes Disgea

- Mega Man 9 release date? This September.