Nintendo:The Kingdom Enquirer

Welcome to the Kingdom Enquirer, a column that focuses on the news of Nintendo - from their games, their consoles and their supporters (i.e. third parties). If you find any news that's worth posting, then please do so! But if this is the case, remember to sign your post, add a possible link and of course a title! Images are welcome - but it's suggested that you just have one if any. And for those wondering, the name originates from a Nintendo Valiant comic way back in which there was a newspaper that reported on the happenings of the Mushroom Kingdom. Also note that this will replace separate news pages.

News archive

• Nintendo: The Kingdom Enquirer/May-November 2008
• Nintendo: The Kingdom Enquirer/November-December 2008
• Nintendo: The Kingdom Enquirer/January-March 2009

July 2009

The Four Warriors of Light: A Final Fantasy Anecdote announced for DS

July 1st, 2009 by   Bentendo  Talk

Square Enix recently started a countdown on their Japanese website but literally no information was known on the game. Today, all of that changes. In the newest issue of Shonen Jump, Square Enix announced The Four Warriors of Light: A Final Fantasy Anecdote, a new traditional turn based role-playing game. Not much is known about the game at the moment, though it can be confirmed that when you change the equipment of your character, the change will be visible.

Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 (June 2nd-4th)

May 7th-June 6th, 2009 by   Bentendo  Talk

E3 has started, and all of the Nintendo related news will be posted here.

Miyamoto roundtable

Alright, the conference is over and now Miyamoto is doing a roundtable. No cameras are allowed so you won't get any footage out of it, but reporters are allowed to do what they do best: report. So, thankfully IGN and the like are telling us what's going on, and I'll record it on the site here:

• New Super Mario Bros. Wii will have roughly 80 or so stages.
• One of Miyamoto's favorite stages is a snow level where you dawn a penguin suit.
• Super Mario Galaxy will contain roughly 90 to 95% new content. I'm not sure if he's referring to stages or suits, but still don't let that number discourage you - that's a heck of a lot of new content.
• Galaxy is very far along in development, but decided to release it next year due to New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
• Miyamoto says that the island in Wii Sports Resort is sort of like a character of its own since it's already appeared in Wii Fit, will appear in this game, and will also appear in Wii Fit Plus.
• Miyamoto says Spirit Tracks will have quite a lot of train travel in it. I know some of you won't like that, but I do!
• Miyamoto shows off an illustration for Zelda Wii. The new Link will be grown up. Won't be a teenager apparently. It'll also be realistic.
• Miyamoto says that it's a possibility that the new Zelda game will make exclusive Wii MotionPlus use. He's not confirming anything though.
• Miyamoto says that game will try to appeal to those who view Zelda as an RPG and those who think otherwise.
• When playing the archery game and the sword fighting game in Wii Sports Resort, Miyamoto says to think that this might be how Zelda will work.
• Spirit Tracks will have four player multiplayer mode. No specifics were given.
• Miyamoto hopes to fully reveal Wii Zelda at next year's E3. Okay, fine by me - at least we know we've already got a confirmation that next year's E3 will be awesome.
• Once source is saying that bowling will be in Wii Sports Resort. I wouldn't be surprised - it's a favorite with the elderly people.
• Well, some disappointing news: New Super Mario Bros. Wii won't have any online play. Oh well... so ronery.

Nintendo press conference

Press conference starts at 9:00PST on June 2nd

• Alright, after calming down, I'll explain to you all what happened during the event:

• A new New Super Mario Bros. game was announced, surprisingly, for Wii titled New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The game will have four player cooperative modes and will even feature Yoshi.
• Golden Sun DS was announced after a six year hiatus. The game looks stunning.
• Super Mario Galaxy 2 was announced for Wii. Fantastic looking graphics, interesting new gameplay mechanics and, yup, we finally get Yoshi after a disappointing omission from the original.
• Metroid: Other M is announced. It looks, to be frank, AMAZING. I couldn't believe my eyes. The game is being developed by the fantastic Team Ninja, the peeps behind the Ninja Gaiden series. Can't wait!
• Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! is announced for DSiWare. Will be released NEXT WEEK!
• WarioWare: DIY and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story announced for America.
• Wii Fit Plus announced.
• New games for Wii Sports Resort: Archery, basketball, samurai swords, rowing boat, sky diving, and the already known golf and ping pong. That's probably all of them.
• Wii Vitality Sensor announced. I don't really understand the purpose of it at the moment, so give me some time to grasp it fully when it's discussed in greater detail later on in the event.
• You'll soon be able to share your photos you've take with DSi on facebook.
• Ubisoft announces COP: The Recruit for DS. An open world experience that features various different genres such as shooting and driving. It reminded me of a not so violent GTA.
• Flipnote Studios announced for America. It's the same game as Moving Notepad.
• The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks will be playable on the showfloor. Nothing new was revealed but some new art was shown. Looks nice! Alright, I'm off to see the Sony conference!

• 9:55: Five minutes till the show starts. Nintendo is showing some Nintendo trivia.... some of the easiest Nintendo trivia ever:

• 9:50: Ten minutes till the show is supposed to start. Here's an image of outside Nokia's building where the conference will take place:

• 8:45: Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games will also be there. Check out Sega's booth at the show:

• 8:30: It looks like Sin and Punishment 2 will be playable at the show. GameCube controllers are hooked up to the Wii consoles at the Sin and Punishment 2 booth.

• 8:20: And, since I never showed the logo before, I thought I'd show some proof of Wii Fit Plus. This has been known for awhile, so it's nothing new, but interesting nonetheless:

The game's also been copyrighted by Nintendo, soooo..... I'd say it's real!

• 8:10: As stated earlier you can pretty much expect a new Mario game at the show. Nintendo had curtains over certain portions of its showfloor, though you can see images of Mario related items and even a logo behind them (the filters people have applied to the images further prove this):

You see the Fire Flower and floating blocks? You see the logo?

• 7:55: I'll be using the timezone used in California since that's where the show is taking place. Anyway, about an hour and five minutes til' the show starts. Expect a new Mario and Wii Fit Plus to be announced, among other surprises.

Other first party news

Other first party information not revealed at the show, but rather on the showfloor, through demos or via interviews.

• June 3rd - Donkey Kong and Metal Sonic have been confirmed for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. Yes, I know this is technically a third party game since Sega is publishing it, but I'll post it here anyway (Nintendo is publishing in Japan, so I guess it's not technically wrong).
• June 3rd - Metroid co-creator says that Metroid Dread may still come out someday.
• June 2nd - Glory of Heracles is announced for America!!!
• June 2nd - Endless Ocean 2 is present on the showfloor.
• June 2nd - Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box is announced for America.
• June 2nd - A new Mario game has been seen behind curtains on the showfloor (well, at least a silhouette of a Fire Flower and the Super Mario logo. Expect this to be a new Wii game.
• June 2nd - Sin & Punishment 2 will be playable on the show floor.
• June 2nd - Alright, it seems like the Retro twitter is fake. So there may be a new game, there may not. I'll remove the bottom.

Third party news

Third party news from developers like Square Enix, SEGA, Capcom, Electronic Arts, Activsion, Ubisoft, and many more.

• June 2nd - Avatar by Ubisoft will apparently be for Wii and DS along with the other systems.
• June 2nd - A Tintin game is in the works by Ubisoft that'll have Peter Jackson and Stephen Speilberg involved in someway as Jackson was with the King Kong game. It has not been announced if this title will hit a Nintendo platform, as not consoles or handhelds were announced.
• June 2nd - A new soccer/football game was announced by Ubisoft that looks cartoonish but slightly fun.
• June 2nd - Red Steel 2 looks fantastic so far. The first stage was shown at Ubisoft's presser.
• June 2nd - EA Sports Active has already sold 600,000 units since launch. A new expansion pack is coming.
• June 2nd - Sorry for the lack of EA/Ubisoft news last night. There wasn't much to reveal on the Nintendo front, so at least it's not a huge loss.
• June 1st - That big name game? Yeah, it was just a new trailer for The Crystal Bearers, but nonetheless a pretty good one. You want a link? ere ya go! Alright, for the next hour I'll be watching the Microsoft presser.
• June 1st - Activision has just confirmed the entire list of bands that will be present in Guitar Hero 5. I'm not willing to post it yet since IGN is supposed to reveal some big-name-game in five (whoops, just turned to four) minutes so I'll just link to the list: [1]
• June 1st - HOLY S***! First big news of the show folks. Lucas Arts has announced that they're going to develop a new episodic Monkey Island game for WiiWare! This is amazing. The show can end now and I'd be satisfied.
• June 1st - Activision announces that in 2010 we'll get new 007, Tony Hawk, Spider-Man, Transformers, Shrek, and Call of Duty games. As if we thought they weren't going to milk their franchises.
• June 1st - Cooking Mama 3 for the Nintendo DS has been announced. Will be released this winter.
• June 1st - To accompany the previous news bit, LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues has also been confirmed a couple of days ago. The game will seem to have characters from all four movies, and thankfully they're finally adding a stage builder.
• June 1st - LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 has been confirmed, and as expected Traveler's Tales will develop it. No platforms were announced though you can bet it'll appear on Wii and Nintendo DS.
• June 1st - Electronic Arts announces new game franchise: Charm Girls Club. Entries in the series will be released for Wii and Nintendo DS. What a great way to start E3, huh?

Other tidbits

Anything else that may be worth noting, but wouldn't exactly fit in the above categories.

• June 1st - Microsoft announces Natal, a motion based camera that will look to compete with Nintendo. I'm not going to bash Microsoft here because what they've created is very amazing. We'll just have to see how Nintendo responds to this tomorrow. I for one was extremely impressed and satisfied with the conference. EA is coming up in just eight minutes at the time of this writing, and I'll report all the Nintendo related news above.

News leading up to the event

• 29th - Trauma Teamannounced for Wii, a successor to the Trauma Center game released on Wii during its launch that's made by the same people. (note: if there's anymore news today I'll post it here)
• 28th - Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing announced for Wii and Nintendo DS. Ubisoft is suggesting that they'll publish No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle for America as they did the first game. Def Jam Rapstar for Wii announced, more to be shown at E3. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days confirmed for Europe this Fall.
• 27th - Less than a week till the show! Here's some news revealed in the past ten days that I "forgot" to post!: First, two new High Voltage Software (The Conduit) games were announced for Wii titled Gladiator A.D. and The Grinder, both adult oriented titles that make use of Wii MotionPlus. Next, Nintendo has trademarked two games including Wii Fit Plus and Art Academy. We've known about Wii Fit Plus for a while, though the other game is new. Miyamoto will be at E3, though it's unclear whether or not he'll make a surprise appearance during the press conference. He's not listed in the press release and Nintendo has said that he'll be at a roundtable, though I'm sure, or at least hoping, that he'll come on at the end to announce something big. A new Tony Hawk game called Tony Hawk: Ride announced for Wii and other consoles that will come with a skateboard accessory. XSeed Games announces JU-ON: The Grudge for America.
• 18th - Rumors are swirling around that the Japanese branch of Capcom won't attend E3 due to the swine flu, though the American and European branches will.
• 18th - Intelligent Systems and Square Enix have announced that they are working on six video games together, obviously all of them for Nintendo systems. Dragon Quest Wars will be the first game, and is for DSiWare. Maybe we'll get some more information during E3?
• May 8th - Nintendo has confirmed Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver for the Nintendo DS! While Nintendo hasn't said anything, you should probably expect the game to be present at the show.
• May 7th - The Soup host Joel McHale has been confirmed to host this year's Ubisoft conference. At least there's going to be one good thing at the show! But, who knows, maybe we'll get something new regarding No More Heroes 2 or Rabbids go Home.
• May 7th - Majesco has confirmed that A Boy and his Blob will make a showing at E3.
• May 7th - Some major games that have been confirmed to make a showing include: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, Spyborgs, Dead Space Extraction, FIFA 10, Grand Slam Tennis, Madden NFL 10, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Nostalgia, A Boy and His Blob, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, The Conduit, Rabbids Go Home, and Red Steel 2. Note that these are just games that have been officially confirmed. For a full list of games that will be at the show, check out our E3 2009 center here on the Nintendo Wiki.

April 2009

Metroid Prime Trilogy announced for Wii!!!

May 22nd, 2009 by:   Bentendo  Talk

The rumors are true, it appears, as Nintendo has announced Metroid Prime Trilogy for America on the Wii. People were wondering why we weren't getting New Play Control! Metorid Prime and its sequel for Wii, and this explains it. The games will be sold on on disc, and you can access all three games through a main hub. Nothing new has been added to the games other than motion and 16:9 widescreen support. The game will be released August 24 this year.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom announced for America

May 18th, 2009 by:   Bentendo  Talk

Nintendo Power and Capcom have confirmed that Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, now known as Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, will be released in America! The game may even have new characters and features that weren't present in the Japanese game. If they do include new characters, I'm hoping for Leon Kennedy, Captain Commando, and a character from Spyborgs. How Capcom managed to get past the licensing barriers is something we'll probably never know.

Intelligent Systems and Square Enix team up for... SIX games!

May 18th, 2009 by:   Bentendo  Talk

Square Enix has just announced that they are teaming up with Intelligent Systems of Nintendo to create six new games, seemingly all DSiWare, but not confirmed. Only one has been announced so far, but if the others are of this caliber we may be in for quite a ride. Naturally the game is a tactical title! But the interesting thing is... well... just look at the name: Dragon Quest Wars for DSiWare!!!!!! Yes, Intelligent Systems is developing the first ever Dragon Quest tactical role-playing game. And who better to do it than the creators of Fire Emblem and Nintendo Wars? The game will cost 500 Nintendo Points, and will have four player multiplayer both locally and online. The game will be released in June (in Japan at least). The other six games are unknown.

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver announced!

May 8th, 2009 by:   Bentendo  Talk

Nintendo has announced through their official website and through Yahoo! Japan that Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver is official. The game is a remake of Pokémon Gold and Silver, and should be released by the end of the year in Japan. I expect that everyone else will get it about a year from now. Nothing much is known about the remakes now, but on Sunday you should expect to get some more news from a television show which is supposed to reveal some new information. Also expect to get some revelations at E3 this year.

DJ Hero controller revealed

May 7th, 2009 by:   Bentendo  Talk

Right off the heals of the lawsuit that Activision came out victorious on, they've released an image of the upcomming DJ Hero controller. I guess I shouldn't be surprised of how it looks, because it looks like something you'd expect it to look like (wut), but I'm still confused as to how it'll work. Since there's only three buttons I'm assuming you'll be doing some turning as well, but that seems complicated. Anyway, the game, along with Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero are scheduled to be released this fall.

The Conduit developer to helm new Astro Boy game

May 7th, 2009 by:   Bentendo  Talk

High Voltage Studios just confirmed today that they are going to be developing an Astro Boy game based off of the upcoming movie. At first I was a bit disappointed that Treasure wouldn't be making the game after their fantastic Astro Boy: Omega Factor, though I'm sure HVS will do fine. It should also be noted that they're doing the Wii version of the game. The DS version? Well, it's being headed by Arts Co., Ltd... the company behind the Coraline video game... which is supposedly terrible. So, don't have high hopes for the DS outing, but who knows - maybe the Wii game will be good.

Square Enix now owns Eidos

April 22nd, 2009 by:   Bentendo  Talk

Well, it's been a long time since Square Enix announced its plan to purchase European giant Eidos, and today Square Enix officially owns the company. There's not much else you could say about it, and unlike many people I highly doubt that the buyout will effect Edios' games. I simply just don't think Square Enix will get too involved with Eidos video game development.

New Fire Emblem announcement next month???

April 22nd, 2009 by:   Bentendo  Talk

In this month's Nintendo Dream (Japanese magazine), they state that next month, Fire Emblem fans will have something to look forward to. Now, lest this be some cruel joke I'd say that we'll get a new Fire Emblem announcement soon. Don't let the fact that Shadow Dragon just came out a couple of months ago fool you - it was initially released in Japan over 8 months ago, and it's 'bout time for a new one to be announced. And as Fire Emblem Planet brings up, the series' 20th anniversary is coming up, and just as they did with the series' fifteenth anniversary (Path of Radiance) they may release a new game on the 20th. I'm just hoping that they add something new, it just seems that the past couple of games are just soo similar to the ones released before it. And to tell the truth - I liked Sacred Stones a lot better than Shadow Dragon.

Lego Rock Band announced for Wii and DS

April 22nd, 2009 by:   Bentendo  Talk

Back at GDC Harmonix accidentally announced that Lego Rock Band was in the works through a chart showing off the upcoming Rock Band games in comparison to the outrageous amount of Guitar Hero titles. Well, now the companies involved (there's a lot) have confirmed the title, and it looks like it'll be in development by Telltale Games (creator of, you guessed it, the Lego movie titles like Lego Star Wars). The game will, according to Harmonix, have the DNA of their studio in it, but it'll just be infused with Legos. It's geared toward the tween and teen crowds, and thus unsurprisingly has songs that are most appropriate for them, such as:

Blur: “Song 2”
Carl Douglas: “Kung Fu Fighting”
Europe: “The Final Countdown”
Good Charlotte: “Boys and Girls”
Pink: “So What”

Because of this, I highly doubt that the game will be rated T like its predecessors were. And yes - the game is entirely Lego based - so you'll have characters and stadiums made out of the building blocks. How this will benefit the game I have no idea, but it'd be cool to make your own stadiums.

Game Boy turns 20!

April 21st, 2009 by:   Bentendo  Talk

20 years ago, a momentous occasion occurred. Just as Nintendo left their Color TV format for a more accessible cartridge based console, Nintendo abandoned their Game & Watch concept for the entirely appropriate cartridge based handheld. The Game Boy was released, and it remains one of the most important dates in video game history. Handhelds became a powerful opponent to consoles, and in fact would surpass the sales by the tens of millions. The Game Boy introduced to the world Pokémon, popularized Tetris, and gave many of Nintendo and third party franchises the handheld treatment so that they could play their favorite games, whether it be Mario, Zelda, Metroid, or Final Fantasy, on the go. Gunpei Yokoi, the creator of the Game Boy at Nintendo, remains today a legend. He suffered a terrible fate in a car accident, though his franchises and hardware remain as some of the best the industry has and had to offer. The Game Boy brand may no longer be around, though its legacy does.

American/European release date announced for Wii MotionPlus and Wii Sports Resort

April 13th, 2009 by:   Bentendo  Talk

Nintendo has today announced the price and release date for Wii MotionPlus and Wii Sports Resort in America and Europe. In America Wii MotionPlus will hit the market on June 8th this year at a suggested retail price of $19.99. Surprisingly, Wii Sports Resort will come out more than a month layer on July 26th. Wii Sports Resort will cost $49.99 and will come packaged with Wii MotionPlus.

For Europe, the accessory will come out on June 12th while the game will be released on July 24th. The price was not given.

One more tibit announced today: the accessory will be attached to a sleeve, and cannot be detached. This will probably tick a lot of people who don't like the sleeve off, myself included.

Tales of Graces announced for Wii

April 6th, 2009 by   Bentendo  Talk

One of Namco Bandai's biggest series is set to appear on the Wii again with the game Tales of Graces, which was officially announced in the latest issue of... some Japanese magazine (probably Famitsu). The game's main theme is, according to the creators, protection. Protecting what? That's not entirely clear at the moment. This isn't exactly a surprising announcement because a trademark of the game popped up last month sometime. Still, if you enjoyed a New World then check this game out, though take note that the game will feature a different battle system.

Nintendo of America announces DSiWare launch list

April 2nd, 2009 by   Bentendo  Talk

Nintendo has announced their launch lineup for DSiWare come the sixth. While not as exciting as the WiiWare launch, the DSiWare launch does still have some appealing looking titles in the bunch. They include:

• WarioWare Snapped!
• Bird & Beans
• Brain Age Express: Math
• Master of Illusion Express: Funny Face
• Art Style: AQUIA

Game Developers Conference (March 23rd-27th)

DS games featuring exclusive features on DSi, DSi exclusive carts

Alright, the guy behind the Nintendo DSi, Masato Kuwahara, has confirmed at GDC that some games that can be played on both DSi and Nintendo DS will feature some things that can only be accessed on the Nintendo DSi. He didn't delve too much into this, though basically what this means is that if they were to make a game where you could draw an icon, you could probably take a picture of yourself and have it as the icon if you're using a DSi. They also confirmed that if the developers wishes, he can make a game playable exclusively on the Nintendo DSi if it makes extensive use of its features. I highly doubt we'll see many games go this route. And by the way: Spirit Tracks will be playable on all three DS models currently available, so no worries!

Minor news day two

• Suda51, acclaimed creator of No More Heroes, Killer7, and Contact said.... at a game developer conference mind you, which is supposed to be at least a little bit serious, that he gets all of his fantastic game ideas while taking a dump in the toilet. No joke, he said that he gets his best ideas while, and I'm quoting here, "pooping". Great insight there, I'll remember that if I ever venture into game design.

• New art and images for Nintendo published games have been released. I'm too lazy to upload them myself, so I'll just give you the link: Excitebots: Trick Racing (check page 2 for more art), Punch-Out!! (these aren't exactly new), WarioWare Snapped, and Rhythm Heaven. Yes, I hear your pleas for official Spirit Tracks images, but Nintendo is stubborn and doesn't like to offer such media to the press.

Iwata's Keynote

RECAP: A new Zelda game was announced for DS titled The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. Wii has shipped 50 million units worldwide. Wii's Storage Solution announced. New WiiWare sequel to My Life as a King announced, along with the confirmation of The After Years. Final Fantasy games (NES through SNES) coming to Virtual Console. Virtual Console Arcade announced, will include popular arcade games of old including Space Harrier, Mappy, Druaga, Gapius, Star Force, and others. Taito will release Space Invaders later in the year. So far no Nintendo published titles announced for Virtual Console Arcade, which shows their support for third party success on their consoles. Both Storage Solution and Virtual Console Arcade can be downloaded today! 90% of WiiWare sales are from third parties. Rock 'n' Roll Climber is not a sequel to Ice Climbers, but is a realistic rock climbing simulator for WiiWare that will make use of the Balance Board, whose userbase is creeping up to that of the PS3's!

---

• Pre-conference: It starts in an hour. Be sure to find a good live blog. I'll update the page here if anything big is announced, but I still suggest that you head to Kotaku, 1up, IGN or any other site that has live blogs so that you can see it the moment it happens.

• Pre-conference: Nintendo has shut down the Wii Shop Channel for the moment. Maybe they'll update it after something big is announced during the conference? Don't get your hopes up though, it's probably nothing too big.

• Pre-conference (47 minutes till): The shop channel thing may be bigger than we think. While here in America we don't know when it'll be back up and running, the Japanese Shop Channel notes that it'll be back at 2:00AM (Japan time), which is the moment that Iwata's keynote ends. Coincidence? I THINK NOT! Who knows, maybe it's the big storage solution that Nintendo promised in the Spring... and would you look at that - where just a few days into Spring!!!

• Pre-conference: Here's some links to some live blogs: Joystiq, Eurogamer, VG247, 1up, IGN, and Kotaku.

• Pre-conference: Another bit of fuel to add to the Shop Channel fire: Today is the first year anniversary since WiiWare launched in Japan!

• Conference has begun: Wii has shipped over 50 million units, making it the fastest selling hardware yet.

• FYI: This conference may not reveal anything. So far it's really disappointing, and there's only 20 minutes left. Everyone at the show gets a free copy of Rhythm Heaven.

• Rock 'n' Roll Climber being shown. Will use Balance Board. Supposed to be very realistic. WiiWare game (sigh).

• Once you reach the top of the mountain, you start rocking out on a guitar... wat...

• Wii's Storage Solution announced: New firmware update. Wii Menu 4.0 will include SD Card support. Direct all of your games right to the SD Card and play them in a new menu. Up to 240 games can be stored. You can download it now.

• My Life As a Darklord: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is announced for WiiWare, sequel to My Life as a King. Final Fantasy IV: The After Years also coming to WiiWare, which we already reported. The Final Fantasy franchise is making its way to the Virtual Console! YAY!

• Arcade games confirmed for Virtual Console. Some supporters include the likes of Sega, Namco, and Taito, along with Nintendo of course.

• NEW ZELDA!!!!!!!! It's for DS and will involve.... TRAINS? Well, that's new! Visually it apparently looks like Phantom Hourglass. I'm stoked! The name is The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. The system is a lot like driving a boat around, but this time you create tracks and such. Of course there will be dungeons and enemies. Don't be fooled by the trains - this is a hardcore Zelda title, and it'll be available by the end of the year.

Minor news

• An astounding 60% of World of Goo sales were from WiiWare. To compare with other outlets, 25% came from website downloads on the computer, and a mere 3% came from the retail version. According to 2D Boy, the game cost them around $116,000 to create.
• The new Harry Potter game for Wii will NOT include MotionPlus support.
• Punch-Out!! will be playable on Wednesday according to IGN. They expect big things from the Iwata speach too. But in this writers' opinion I doubt they'll announce anything that will make you squeal, but there have been some pretty big announcements in the past such as Phantom Hourglass, trailers for Galaxy and Twilight Princess, Pay to Play, and the announcement of a sequel to Wind Waker.

March 2009

New sales information

March 14th By   Bentendo  Talk

I feel like giving some new sales info for the week since there's really nothing else to report at the moment.

• Guitar Hero: On Tour almost reaches 2 million units sold, will probably do so quite soon.
• A big shock: Spore Creatures on DS almost tops 1 million units, as is DDR: Hottest Party for Wii.
• Sonic and the Black Knight debuts on the American charts at number 4, behind Wii Fit, Wii Play and Mario Kart Wii.
• de Blob might pass one million mark, might not.

Rock N' Roll Climber, a new game by Nintendo, announced by the ESRB

March 12th, 2009 By   Bentendo  Talk

Well, this is certainly interesting: ESRB has gone and done it again by announcing a game before the publisher probably wanted them to. This time they did a doozie by announcing a Nintendo published title, but one that will probably be met with mixed reactions. The game, titled Rock N' Roll Climber, is, you guessed it, a rock climbing game. Not much else is known about it - though apparently you must climb the rock formations within the given time, "grabbing onto divots and edges and positioning themselves to ensure they do not fall off." The game, rated E for Everyone (what a shock) might even be the spiritual successor to Ice Climber, or possibly a WiiWare game. Well, whatever it is, more info is sure to be released in the next couple of months, maybe at Nintendo's spring conference.

Two more Resident Evil games announced, plus Pikmin 2 and Jungle Beat

March 12th, 2009 By:   Bentendo  Talk

Resident Evil: DarkSide Chronicles was announced yesterday, and we, yet again, get two more Resident Evil titles to look forward to. Unfortunately, and quite frankly this was expected, these two games aren't exactly new, but rather remakes of previously released games. In fact, one of the games announced is a remake of a remake! Exciting, isn't it? When the 360 and PS3 fans get a new entry in the series, we get a light gun sequel and two remakes. At least we get two more games then them, though its still disappointing that we don't get a new entry in the main series. It's also disappointing that we don't get a remake of Resident Evil 2. But I digress, the two new games are remakes of the GameCube games Resident Evil Zero and Resident Evil (the GameCube version mind you), both with upgraded controls. So basically they're like New Play Control! titles that aren't published by Nintendo. Which brings me to two other games. Nintendo has confirmed that Pikmin 2 is coming to America under the New Play Control! brand, and that the previously confirmed Donkey Kong Junble Beat is as well. While Pikmin 2 isn't bringing anything really new to the table other than enhanced controls, Jungle Beat will be giving us two new stages, new enemies, weapons and bonuses. Not surprising coming from the developers of Super Mario Galaxy, amiright?

Nintendo ships 100 millionth Nintendo DS

March 11th, 2009 By:   Bentendo  Talk

Mark this day, March 11th, 2009. Nintendo for the first time since the Game Boy has managed to ship over 100 million units of a video game system. The Nintendo DS, the fourth best selling video game system of all time, just behind the PS2, Game Boy, and PS1 in that order (and by just behind the PS2, I mean it still has about, say, a measly 50 million more units to go!).

New Professor Layton and Resident Evil announced

March 11th, 2009 By:   Bentendo  Talk

Famitsu has revealed two new games, one for the DS and one for the Wii. For the DS we get a new Professor Layton game called Professor Layton and Devil's Flute. The game is a prequel to the original and will be the beginning of a whole new series. Next we get a new Resident Evil for Wii, and it seems to be a sequel to Umbrella Chronicles titled DarkSide Chronicles. I would state my opinions on making a sequel of that game, though I'll keep them to myself. The game will be easier than the original (oh boy) and will support two players. So THIS is what Capcom was talking about, huh?

A Boy and His Blob announced for Wii

March 5th, 2009 By:   Bentendo  Talk

You may or may not know the name of the game I just mentioned. It was a classic title released long ago that had the player control a boy who fed his pet blob jellybeans that would cause him to transform into an object like a ladder. Well, the game was thought to have been in development for the GBA, but was canceled, then the DS, but was canceled, and now its on its way to Wii, and by the looks of it this one will make it to retail and won't face the unfortunate fate that the previous games did.

Nintendo Power revealed it in their latest issue in a full fledged sequel. Its being made by the guys at WayForward, the peeps behind games like Shante and Contra 4. The game holds exciting promise due to its unique graphics that resemble Wario Land: Shake It, its return of the interesting gameplay mechanics, and the fact that it has an all-star team. Once more info is released, I'll report it.