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[Nintendo reveals that the GameCube and Wii versions of Twilight Princess will now be sold separately. Control details inside.]

26

TalkBack / Zelda Wii Details Revealed

« on: May 09, 2006, 09:18:59 AM »

Nintendo reveals that the GameCube and Wii versions of Twilight Princess will now be sold separately.  Control details inside.

Nintendo announced that the GameCube/Wii version of Zelda: TP is no more.  It will be replaced by two separate retail packages, one for GameCube and one for Wii.  This shouldn't cause much problem for most as both games will be launching alongside Wii.    

The game was also demonstrated extensively to show how the Wii controller is used to enhance the gameplay.  Surprisingly, the sword is controlled using the accelerometer in the analog attachment, not the remote.  The B button will also initiate a basic sword attack.  The remote will be used to control the menus, camera, and distance weapons and items (bow, hookshot and boomerang so far).  For menu purposes, Navi the endearing fairy from Ocarina of Time, makes a return flying to the location you point to when navigating menus.    

Fishing was also shown in a video reel and it seemed to use the controller as you might expect.  The remote appeared to be used to cast the line and a "reeling" motion with the analog attachment reeled the fish in.    

The graphics reportedly look about the same as they did last year at a glance.

[Nintendo reveals and partially demonstrates the self descriptive Wii Sports.]

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TalkBack / Wii Sports Announced

« on: May 09, 2006, 08:50:25 AM »

Nintendo reveals and partially demonstrates the self descriptive Wii Sports.

Nintendo announced the winner of an AOL contest and invited the lucky guy on stage to play a tennis match with Reggie, Miyamoto and Iwata.  The game went as you might expect with familiar tennis ball "pop" sounds emitting from the controller's newly revealed speaker each time a player hits the ball.    

The tennis game is part of a larger package aptly titled Wii Sports.  Footage of baseball and golf, likely from Wii Sports, was also shown.  There may be more in the final version as well.    

This demo also concluded Nintendo's media briefing.  Stay tuned for more news and preview updates later today and gameplay impressions from the show floor tomorrow!

[During Nintendo's ongoing media briefing, a number of upcoming DS games were just shown including a few pleasant surprises.]

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TalkBack / New DS Games Revealed

« on: May 09, 2006, 08:30:27 AM »

During Nintendo's ongoing media briefing, a number of upcoming DS games were just shown including a few pleasant surprises.

Here's the list in the order they appeared.    

New Super Mario Bros.  
Pokemon Blue Mystery Dungeon DS (September 18, 2006)  
Pokemon Red Mystery Dungeon GBA (September 18, 2006)  
Final Fantasy 3 (fully 3D)  
Starfox DS  
Diddy Kong Racing (appears to be a straight port, though Wifi enabled)  
Yoshi's Island 2 (baby Mario is back!)  
Mario Hoops 3 on 3  
Elite Beat Agents (a rhythm game)  
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass  
Big Brain Academy  
Mario vs. DK: March of the Minis  
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam (WiFi)    

Two more games that weren't shown but included in Nintendo's press release were Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and Chibi Robo.    

Stay tuned for more updates.

[Nintendo shows footage of a new Mario platformer for Wii.]

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TalkBack / Mario for Wii Shown Briefly and More

« on: May 09, 2006, 07:56:20 AM »

Nintendo shows footage of a new Mario platformer for Wii.

The name is Super Mario Galaxy.  The footage was brief, but Mario was doing some typical looking platform things to the tune of a Wii controller.  It has not yet been announced that the game would be a launch title.  Only Zelda has been confirmed as a launch title so far.    

Other games shown briefly include (I will describe the gameplay when names were not available): drumming, golf, symphony conducting, racing, Super Mario Galaxy, flying, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Wario Ware, baseball, Red Steel and Zelda.    

Other notes so far are that Zelda will be available on the Wii's launch day and Metroid Prime 3 is subtitled Corruption if my ears did not deceive me.  A speaker will be included in the remote portion of the controller.  In an example from Zelda, the bow-string snaps on the remote and as the arrow travels the sound moves to the TV (or your stereo) speakers.    

Update: Nintendo announced that 27 Wii games will be playable on the E3 show floor tomorrow.

[Oh no they just didn't!]

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TalkBack / Sony Tries to Ape Nintendo, Fails

« on: May 08, 2006, 04:53:50 PM »

Oh no they just didn't!

Sony just announced that the standard PS3 controller will include a 3 axis tilt sensor capable of detecting "360 degrees" of motion.  The announcement was followed by a quick video, which, to the trained eye, demonstrated the limitations of their thinly veiled attempt to copy Nintendo's innovative Wii controller.  They proudly asserted that the device was innovative (yes, but who's innovation?) and blithely pointed out that it requires no external sensors to function.    

At what cost does the loss of external sensors come though?  In short, the PS3 controller will only detect the tilt of the controller as it is moved.  The demonstration showed a guy attempting to fly a plane from the game Warhawk with it.  He made exaggerated motions, which turned the plane, but the plane returned to level before he moved the controller back.  This is a far cry from the sensitivity of the Wii controller.  The sensor bar allows the Wii to detect the precise location and orientation of the Wii controller even when it is not moving.  This will enable a much larger range of applications (such as first person shooting to name just one).  Of course, the Wii controller also has an accelerometer in the analog attachment as well.    

Apparently no other PS3 launch games (assuming Warhawk makes the launch) are currently designed to use the device, which was likely a last minute add on in response to the increasing popularity of Nintendo's new controller design.

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Nintendo Gaming / I made a homebrew ds game

« on: August 13, 2005, 01:07:49 PM »

Can anyone run homebrews?  There are early emulators, but my game does not run on them so you'd need a passthrough (or wifime) and a gba flash cart to play it. Although I've heard that you can use a GBA Movie Player instead of a flash cart, you'd still need a passthrough (about 30 bucks).

The game is an action puzzle game of the falling block variety (same sub genre as tetris and dr. mario as opposed to polarium which is a turn based puzzle game and meteos which doesn't let you control the falling blocks, but instead lets you move the blocks that have already fallen like in pokemon puzzle league).

http://www.endloopstudios.com/flux/

I say I made a game, but this is more like an E3 demo. I have much more planned for this game.  You know, alternate modes, multiplayer etc and refinemines to the current marathon mode.

If anyone can play it, I'd really like to hear your opinion.

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TalkBack / EDITORIAL: The HD Debacle

« on: June 20, 2005, 09:21:04 PM »

This thread is for discussion of my latest editorial.

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TalkBack / EDITORIAL: With Great Power ...

« on: February 23, 2005, 04:46:15 AM »

This thread is for discussion of my new editorial.

With Great Power ...

I may be MIA for a few hours, but I'll check in as soon as possible.  

[NPD data indicates The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories and Super Mario 64 DS place third, ninth and tenth respectively.]

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TalkBack / Resident Evil 4 Tops January Sales Chart

« on: February 22, 2005, 03:13:00 AM »

NPD data indicates The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories and Super Mario 64 DS place third, ninth and tenth respectively.

Feb. 22, 2005

Did You Know?

Resident Evil 4 Hacks its Way to the Top of Sales All Three Nintendo Systems Place Games in the Top 10

Capcom's pulse-pounding Resident Evil(R) 4, made exclusively for Nintendo GameCube(TM) beat all other video games in January sales.  It's also one of the best-reviewed games in years. The sales boom no doubt has been driven by reviews that call the game "an absolute must-have," "an amazing achievement" and "early contender for game of the year." Resident Evil 4 boasts no fewer than 30 perfect ratings from magazine and online reviewers, and some 55 others that rate it at 90 percent or higher.  

But if crazed townsfolk and monstrous creatures aren't your thing, Nintendo has plenty of other top-selling games to keep you occupied.  According to the NPD Group's January sales tracking report, each Nintendo video game system had at least one game in January's top 10 sellers. In addition to Resident Evil 4 at No. 1, Nintendo continued its dominance of the hand-held market with The Legend of Zelda(R): The Minish Cap for Game Boy(R) Advance SP at No. 3 overall, Square Enix's KINGDOM HEARTS(R) CHAIN OF MEMORIES for GBA SP at No. 9 and Super Mario(R) 64 DS for Nintendo DS(TM) at No. 10.

[DS versions of Harvest Moon, Bubble Bobble, and Space Invaders will be among the first titles released by new publisher Rising Star.]

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TalkBack / Harvest Moon, Bubble Bobble and Space Invaders DS

« on: February 04, 2005, 07:18:37 AM »

DS versions of Harvest Moon, Bubble Bobble, and Space Invaders will be among the first titles released by new publisher Rising Star.

New Games Publisher To Star On PSP, Nintendo DS; Home Console Titles Due Also

Japanese joint venture to bring the best Eastern games to Europe; Harvest Moon Makes First Ever PS2 Appearance Alongside New DS, GBA and Game Cube Versions; Space Invaders and Bubble Bobble Updated For Next Generation Handhelds

Friday 4 February 2005/... A new publishing powerhouse is establishing itself in Europe, with the remit of bringing the very best Japanese titles to the continent's shores.  

Rising Star Games Limited (Rising Star) – a joint venture between Japanese publisher Marvelous Interactive Inc. and long-standing Japanese Nintendo distributor Bergsala AB– will initially publish titles for PSP, Nintendo DS and PlayStation 2, introducing new games alongside enhanced and updated iterations of interactive entertainment's most loved franchises.  

Rising Star's launch portfolio includes the first ever appearance of a Harvest Moon title on PlayStation 2, along with new iterations on Nintendo DS and Nintendo Game Cube.  

The firm's goal is to reduce the period between Japanese and Western release, reversing the threat of grey imports. Thanks to Rising Star's close working relationship with its development partners, there will even be occasions where the European release is ahead of the Japanese street date.  

"Japan is the most vibrant and creative territory for videogames with global appeal," said Mr. Owe Bergsten, CEO, Rising Star Games. "Rising Star will identify the best Japanese titles which are most suitable for European gamers and work closely with our development teams to ensure that they can be published, fully localised, of course, on or ahead of their native release."

Mr. Shigeki Takeuchi, Managing Director, Rising Star Games, added: "Rising Star is a radical new concept for the global interactive entertainment industry – reducing the delay European consumers would ordinarily expect. By removing the gap between Eastern and Western releases, we're giving the European games industry a legitimate domestic business, and European gamers the titles they crave."

The first trio of titles sees Bubble Bobble and Space Invaders appear in significantly enhanced form on Nintendo DS, along with Sword of Destiny on PS2. A new Evolution series will be introduced on PSP later in the year, which will enhance classic franchises further for the new Sony handheld.  

Space Invaders Revolution takes the much-loved original format and enhances it for the Nintendo DS with a host of new game modes and challenges, all wrapped up in next-generation handheld visuals and audio.  

Bubble Bobble Revolution will make full use of the Nintendo DS's touch screen, offering players the opportunity to interact with the game's vibrant environments in spectacular and innovative ways.  

Sword of Destiny is an original PlayStation 2 hack and slash adventure, which offers some of the most finely-honed combat and lavish environments yet seen on the Sony console.  

European gamers will be treated to four new iterations of Harvest Moon. Harvest Moon: Oh Wonderful Life will appear on Game Cube and PS2 in September and October 2005 respectively, marking the series' first-ever appearance on a Sony Console. Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town arrives on Game Boy Advance in June 2004, with an all-new Harvest Moon game (working title: Harvest Moon DS) arriving on Nintendo's dual-screen handheld in November 2005. Each of these versions will offer a slightly different twist on the staggeringly popular Harvest Moon theme, and promises to introduce the series' wonderful concept to a whole new audience.  

Rising Star is headquartered in Hertfordshire. Key staff appointments and distribution partners will be announced soon.  

Rising Star Games has appointed Barrington Harvey as its PR, marketing and media buying agency.

[Like Castlevania music and electric guitars? You came to the right place.]

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TalkBack / Castlevania CotM Remix

« on: September 29, 2002, 05:38:07 PM »

Like Castlevania music and electric guitars?  You came to the right place.

As many of our readers may remember, around E3 PGC made many mentions of OverClocked.org because the beautiful remixes found therein were used throughout our E3 2002 DVD.  Since then, I've been wanting to create some remixes of my own.

*cliché warning*

Fast-forward a few months and I've just finished my third remix (the first two were not GBA or GameCube related so they weren't posted here).  I originally intended to finish this remix in time for the release of Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance, but forces conspired against my free time forcing me to delay its release until now.

Rude Awakening.mp3 (4.2 MB)

If this is your first exposure to video game remixing, be sure to check out VG Mix and OverClocked for more of the same.  You can find my previous two remixes at VG Mix, but you'll have to explore the site to find them (my user name is Rize).

[Who said the GBC sound synth can't churn out some sweet tunes?]

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TalkBack / Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance

« on: September 26, 2002, 11:16:06 AM »

Who said the GBC sound synth can't churn out some sweet tunes?

The games in the Castlevania series have always been known for their excellent and memorable tunes, and Harmony of Dissonance is no exception.  While it's true that the game directs most of the GBA's available power towards graphics rather than music, the composer did an excellent job despite this.  After all, some of the best music in video game history was done using the NES's inferior chips.

First up we have the game's first BGM (and one of the few BGM's with an official name in the sound test): The Theme of Juste Belmont (662 K).

The second track is from the Marble Corridor.  Considering how memorable the Marble Corridor music from Symphony of the Night (PSX) was, this track had some big shoes to fill.  I'd say those shoes were filled nicely.  Marble Corridor (821 K)

The next theme is used in a few different parts of the castle.  It first crops up in the third major area you're allowed to fully explore: The Castle Treasury (547 K).

Finally, we have one more tune from the middle of the game.  This is from the right most portion of the castle in the area with the epic cloud background.  Behold The Chapel of Dissonance (537 K).

[That's right. If you're going to Greece any time soon, be sure you leave that GBA at home.]

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TalkBack / Greece bans video games

« on: September 03, 2002, 11:14:24 AM »

That's right.  If you're going to Greece any time soon, be sure you leave that GBA at home.

In an attempt to stop "illegal gambling", the government of Greece has passed a law that simply makes all video games illegal.

Naturally, Greek gamers are organizing protests and such to repeal the law, but in the mean time, travelers should be warned that bringing video games into the country may result in fines.

It's even illegal to play a game of chess over the Internet (of course, you can play chess using a board and actual pieces).

[Seriously... and some other wacky stuff.]

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TalkBack / Secret Message Hidden in Super Monkey Ball 2

« on: August 27, 2002, 07:33:10 PM »

Seriously...  and some other wacky stuff.

As I was playing SMB2 a few hours ago, I noticed some odd bumps on Story level 1-3 (or Beginner 3 in Challenge Mode).  Upon closer examination, I suspected that it was Braille.  After about an hours worth of digging on the net, I had the message translated.

Not so fast!  First I have to bore you with the details of it's deciphering.  First of all, how do you tell which direction in the message is up?  It's just a bunch of dots!  Then there's the issue of spacing.  It was pretty confusing at first.  Then there was the problem that every website I found with the Braille Alphabet assumed that I didn't need to know punctuation... but fortunately I found a translator that converts stuff you type into Braille which allowed me to figure out the code for punctuation.  Exciting stuff eh?  Now... onto the secret message.

Hi!  This is Jamad. That is right. Braille Alphabet. I respect you !!

Yep, that's the secret message.  Aren't you glad you didn't spend an hour and a half of your time figuring that out?  I looked for "Jamad" in the SMB2 credits but didn't find him.  It must be a nickname (or a bad joke).  I would guess that he's a level designer, or someone else who could directly change the level structure.  It's doubtful that anyone else would have done it for him!

As for the other wacky stuff, a reader on the GameFAQs message board noticed that something is wrong with the name entry screen for Story Mode.  When you attempt to enter your name, you're going to have to make other plans if there is a lowercase "w" in your name.  Instead, the game has a duplicate lowercase "t".  Thanks to Andret Andrew at GameFAQs for pointing this out.

[Want to bid on a North American copy of Super Mario Sunshine signed by the one and only Shigeru Miyamoto?]

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TalkBack / Miyamoto Signed

« on: August 08, 2002, 03:57:14 AM »

Want to bid on a North American copy of Super Mario Sunshine signed by the one and only Shigeru Miyamoto?

Nintendo of Canada is sponsoring a charity event whereby 10 copies of Super Mario Sunshine are being auctioned away at eBay's Canadian site.  Of course, these aren't just any old copies of SMS, they are signed by the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto himself.  Follow this link and bid at your own risk.

Note that only two of the auctions are available at the moment.  I'm guessing that the other eight auctions will be posted as these two end.