March powers through to the top of the release list this week.

This week in Nintendo downloads brings us seven new titles for the digital platforms.

First up on WiiWare is Muscle March, a strange Japanese game from publisher NBGI that has you posing as a muscle-man or polar bear to catch thieves, who have stolen the "all mighty protein powder". The game... Read more...

Mii makers in Japan and North America have been busy.

In a games seminar held in Japan on December 4, 2009, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata confirmed that over 100 million Miis have been created since the Wii launched in Japan and North America.

20 million Miis have been made in Japan, while players in North America have created 80 million. These... Read more...

The DS title will include all four Mega Man Zero games.

Capcom has announced Rockman Zero Collection (Mega Man Zero outside of Japan) for the Nintendo DS. It contains all four Game Boy Advance Mega Man Zero titles, a series that saw annual entries beginning in 2002 and running through 2005.

The Mega Man Zero series is the third series of Mega Man games, set 100 years after the Mega Man X series and starring X's sidekick Zero.

Calling director believes that high quality mature titles can find an audience on Wii.

High on the heels of Capcom and Sega commenting on how mature rated titles perform poorly on Wii, Calling director Kazufumi Shimizu has expressed his concerns on the topic. He believes that while the Wii audience is hard to appeal to, quality is key in attracting an audience to mature titles.

"When... Read more...

Ubisoft CEO blames the film's release date on the game's failure.

In a recent conference call, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has expressed his concerns over Avatar's failure across all consoles. Despite the movie being a box office success the videogame game adaptation has been both a critical and commercial failure, not appearing on the NPD's top 20 best sellers list. According to the CEO, the film's late December release date affected the game's overall performance.

According to Ubisoft's website, Red Steel 2 is hitting stores on March 23.

Ubisoft's Red Steel 2 game page shows a March 23 release date for the Wii first-person shooter.

Red Steel 2, which requires Wii MotionPlus and will come bundled with the peripheral upon release, was originally slated for fall 2009, but was delayed into the first quarter of 2010.

The online retailer will offer the Wii Speak microphone with the purchase of Endless Ocean: Blue World.

Amazon is offering players who pre-order Endless Ocean: Blue World the chance to receive a Wii Speak microphone bundled with the game for no additional cost.

It is a limited time offer currently available on Amazon. The Endless Ocean: Blue World/Wii Speak has yet to appear on any retailer listing.

In America, Nintendo plays you.

It's an understatement to say that Nintendo had an excellent 2009. On the heels of the recent NPD December sales report, the company has announced several records set during the holidays.

The Wii continued its torrid sales pace, shifting more than 3.8 million units in December to set a new all-time... Read more...

The Wii and DS reigned triumphant in December, and the rest of the year as well.

December numbers from the NPD Group reveal that Nintendo was the winner in hardware sales, with the Wii and DS respectively taking the number one and two spot. The Wii exceeded 3.81 million in sales, while the DS was not far behind with 3.31 million units sold.

Software sales were lead by Nintendo's... Read more...

Expo attendees could win $1,000 if they beat the lead designer at his own game.

Medaverse Studios has announced that they will be holding a Gravitronix tournament at their booth at the upcoming Penny Arcade Expo East in Boston, Massachusetts. Players willing to participate will be able to take on Gravitronix's lead designer Jesse Lowther in the tournament's final round for a chance to win $1,000. If the player loses to the Lowtherator, they will receive $250 as a consolation prize.

Developer refutes recent comments regarding core games not doing well on Wii.

Bloober Team Executive Marcin Kawa refutes Capcom's recent comments about core titles not being strong performers on the Wii, stating in a candid manner that "Only bad Wii games sell badly". He elaborates further by saying that "With such a strong install base it's hard to believe that there's not enough people to appreciate mature, core content".

Nintendo may soon be asking you to get less excited about a game.

Although nothing has been announced formally yet, Nintendo has laid the groundwork for Wii Relax in North America via a series of trademarks filed recently. Similar trademarks were filed in Europe under the name WiiRelax.

The trademarks seem to run the gamut from video games to trading card... Read more...

The super-sized DSi will be migrating to Europe late this winter.

Nintendo revealed the release date of the DSi XL in Europe to be March 5, 2010.

The system, which has screens almost twice the size of the DS Lite, will supplement the current Nintendo DSi, which was released in April 2009.

No launch price has been revealed, but the system currently sells in Japan for 20,000¥, which is the equivalent of 151€ or $220. The Nintendo DSi sells in Europe for 149€.

Follow the "Path of Light" this March.

Coro Coro Comics has revealed that Pokémon Ranger Hikari no Kiski will release onMarch 6 in Japan. The title, which is translated as "Path of Light", will be the third game in the series.

The game, as is the same with previous games in the series, allows you to pick a male or female character... Read more...

The Australian ratings board lets the cat out of the bag again.

The Australian ratings board, OFLC, has revealed yet another Q-Games project with Nintendo. Although details are slim, the title of the game is 3D Space Tank.

No platform is mentioned in the OFLC listing. However, Q-Games has developed several DSiWare games, including Art Style DigiDrive, Starship Patrol, and Trajectile. Q-Games is also widely known for their PixelJunk games on PlayStation 3.

Development studios have been wracked with closings since late 2008.

A new study by M2 Research indicates that 11,488 jobs in the video game industry have been cut since late 2008.

The study produced several specific figures, including:

18 studios closed entirely, including 3D Realms, GRIN, and EA's Pandemic Studio

Layoffs hit 95 studios

52 percent of those studios were in the United States

Netflix's instant video streaming service will soon be available on the Wii.

Nintendo and Netflix will announce on Wednesday that the movie rental company's streaming video service is heading to the Wii this spring. Over 17,000 television shows and films will be available for instant viewing on the Wii once the service becomes available.

To access instant streaming a... Read more...

The director doesn't mind making another mature game on Wii.

In a recent interview with Official Nintendo Magazine, MadWorld director Shigenori Nishikawa has expressed interest in creating a sequel to the violent brawler.

"I think MadWorld was very well received and was acknowledged for its innovative graphical style and gameplay. We would definitely be interested in making a sequel in the future", he told to the magazine.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii will be the highlight of Nintendo's booth.

Nintendo has announced their plans for the Winter World Hobby Fair in an information page for the upcoming event.

Set to start on January 17 in Osaka, Japan, Nintendo will have New Super Mario Bros. Wii on display. It will also be the only title available for play at Nintendo's booth. Japanese players will be able to select their favorite course, and participate in either single or multiplayer battles.

The creators of The Magic Obelisk are working on their second downloadable title.

Game Arts, creators of the recently released The Magic Obelisk and the Lunar series, told Siliconera that they are working on their second downloadable title. Magic Obelisk Producer Takahiro Nishi expressed to Siliconera that, “our development team is now engaged in the next downloadable game.” When asked about the platform the title would appear on Nishi was only willing to say, “we would like you to look forward to the announcement.”