John Riccitiello wants Nintendo to release more first-party titles to spur interest in the platform.

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello discussed the company's low Wii sales in an investor conference call last night. He noted that he was frustrated with the poor performance of EA software on the platform, despite what he considers to be the best third-party lineup on the console.

Riccitiello... Read more...

Harvest Moon: Animal Parade and Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands come out for Wii and DS respectively today.

Natsume announced that both Harvest Moon: Animal Parade and Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands are available now.

Animal Parade is the newest Wii iteration of the Harvest Moon series. Taking place in Harmonica Town, players have to collect the five elemental bells and awaken the Harvest King to help... Read more...

There may be a new type of hero coming in the future.

Activision recently filed a patent for the name "Drum Hero" in a filing with the U.S. State Patent and Trademark office.

Filed on October 30, the patent covers the following:

"Toys, hand-held games with liquid crystal displays, musical toys; action figures and accessories therefor; arcade games; coin-operated video games; electric action toys; handheld unit for playing electronic video games; electronic toy drums"

In addition to the train, Link will also have the Spirit Pipes to aid him in his journey.

Official Nintendo Magazine has unveiled a new instrument in The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for the DS. Reminiscent of the Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker, Link will be using an instrument called the Spirit Pipes, which can be used to summon special powers.

Before visiting any temple, Link... Read more...

The classic Nintendo toy returns as an exclusive WiiWare game for Japanese Club Nintendo members.

Nintendo announced a new item for their Club Nintendo service in Japan. The item will be a WiiWare title based on the Ultrahand, known as Wii de Ultrahand (Ultrahand on the Wii).

This is the first time a Wii game of any kind has been offered as a special Club Nintendo reward aside from Doc Louis's Punch-Out!! as an end-of-the-year reward in North America.

One of their first titles will be Animal Puzzle Adventure.

Aksys has announced that they will be publishing a puzzle game for DSiWare called Animal Puzzle Adventure, known in Japan as Simple Puzzle Series: Chiria's Barn.

An Arcs System Works title, Animal Puzzle Adventure has players guiding farm animals into their barns, making sure they are safe from... Read more...

Nintendo graces us with an exciting update that is rich with new and established franchises.

This week in Nintendo downloads brings us a whopping eleven titles: three for WiiWare, two for Virtual Console, and six for DSiWare.

This week on WiiWare marks the release of the hotly anticipated return of the Excitebike franchise with Excitebike: World Rally. This remake of the classic NES... Read more...

Michael Jackson's classic game may moonwalk to Virtual Console in Europe.

A recent PEGI listing has revealed that Michael Jackson's Moonwalker might be released for the Virtual Console in Europe. This is a significant listing, primarily due to the fact that there aren't many licensed titles on Virtual Console.

The listing states that Sega of Europe will publish the... Read more...

The third game in the Bit.Trip series will be released just in time for Thanksgiving.

Gaijin Games has announced a November 23 release date for the third game in the Bit.Trip series, Bit.Trip Void.

The WiiWare title, which has been available in Japan since October 27, will be available in North America for the week of Thanksgiving for 600 Wii Points ($6). The game will once again star Commander Video in a journey inspired by classic Atari games.

Link's going to have a princess riding shotgun this time around.

Nintendo has announced that, for the first time in the storied history of the franchise, Princess Zelda herself (i.e. not an alter ego, such as Shiek or Tetra) will be a playable character in the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for Nintendo DS.

Zelda rides along with Link on his train... Read more...

The German USK rating system revealed a possible entry in the attorney series.

A Phoenix Wright title is in works for Wii, according to the German USK rating system.

The series has only been on portables in the past, and this Wii entry would be the first time Phoenix Wright and company would be appearing on a home console.

The Phoenix Wright games are a series of... Read more...

The DSiWare version will deliver a cheaper version of the classic game's recent rebirth.

Taito announced the release of Space Invaders Extreme Z on DSiWare in Japan.

The title is actually a port of Space Invaders Extreme 2 minus some of the modes found in the retail release. The DSiWare version only has two modes: time attack and score attack. These modes will have three levels of difficulty: beginner, normal and extreme.

The recent price drop has not had the intended effect in Japan, and Nintendo's "urgent mission" is to regain momentum.

The sales of the Wii in Japan have been declining, falling below 50,000 units per week.

"This cannot be defined as healthy," said Nintendo President Satoru Iwata.

Despite a few sales spikes with the release of titles like Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit Plus, and the recent price drop, Nintendo... Read more...

The latest game in the Zelda series will use MotionPlus for swordplay and targeting.

At a recent Q&A session held in Tokyo, Japan, game designer Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed that the next Zelda game on Wii will require MotionPlus for realistic swordplay and targeting. In the session he stated that “In this (installment of the series), we’re using MotionPlus to make you feel much more like you’re actually fighting while holding a sword in your hand,” .

The Nintendo President is interested in Amazon’s ebook-reading device.

Nintendo may be looking at the business model of Amazon's ebook reader, the Kindle, for inspiration. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said Friday that the Kindle may serve as an example for future Nintendo handhelds.

The Kindle, which downloads ebooks from Amazon, connects to local cell phone networks instead of using WiFi, which the DS uses.

Nintendo hopes the initiative will help WiiWare and DSiWare market grow.

At a recent Q&A session at an earnings briefing, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata confirmed to investors that they would begin a test program for WiiWare demos later this month.

According to Iwata, Nintendo hopes that this initiative will get more players to invest in WiiWare and DSiWare titles.... Read more...

Wii Sports and New Super Mario Bros. DS impress with their sales.

Wii Sports has sold over 50 million copies worldwide, while New Super Mario Bros. DS has sold just under 20 million copies, according to software sales data released by Nintendo.

Other notable million sellers include Wii Play at 24.43 million, Wii Fit at 22 million, Mario Kart Wii at 18.36 million. The sales data includes all versions of the game, including bundles and special editions.

A whopping eight games are released this week, featuring street fighters, sparkly pictures, vikings, dragons, and carnival games.

Today's update consists of eight games: three for WiiWare, three for DSiWare, and two for the Virtual Console.

On WiiWare we have Carnival King from Incredible Technologies. At 700 Wii Points ($7), Carnival King features mini-games based on classic carnival games and attractions.

Keeping... Read more...

In honor of the series' 20th anniversary, Square Enix will re-release the classic game on Virtual Console.

Square Enix has announced that in honor of the SaGa series' 20th anniversary they will release Romancing SaGa, a Super Nintendo title, on Virtual Console next month in Japan. As with most other SNES games on the Virtual Console service, it will be priced at 800 Wii Points.

This original SNES... Read more...

The Wii remake of the GameCube classic will invade homes just in time for the holidays.

Capcom has announced the shipping date for Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil Zero. The Wii version of the GameCube title will be available on December 1, 2009, priced at $29.99.

Resident Evil Zero is a prequel to Resident Evil that explores the origin of the T-Virus. S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team... Read more...