A 16:9 Wind Waker with Wii Remote bow and grapple aiming would be great, Nintendo. Just sayin!

First Look: Wii de Asobu Pikmin [IGN]

Interview: Cammie Dunaway [IGN]

[Liveblogging the Nintendo Press Conference Liveblog]

Huntley has been asking for a Wii for months... When he moved to Frankland in February he was given a Nintendo Game Cube - but after only a few weeks he began complaining it was out of date... Management are desperate to stop him going though with threats he's made to kill himself and by giving him a Wii they believe they can take his mind away from harming himself in any way.

Huntley's private cell also boasts a television and a CD player. Keep in mind: This info comes from an unnamed source so it could very well be false.

WARDERS ORDERED: PLAY ON Wii WITH HUNTLEY [The People via WiiNintendo]

In theory, the idea that the game’s variable difficulty settings will make the game more accessible to someone like my mother is somewhat appealing. And then I think a bit and it’s not. When I toast Mom’s secondary for my sixth TD, I doubt I’ll get up, dance around, and mime like I’m teabagging her. But after nearly 20 years at this, beginning with Madden 93 on the Genesis, it’s almost an instinctive reaction.

I also seriously doubt guys’ girlfriends are going to be interested in one of the game’s great diversions — creating 6-11, 300 pound solid muscle running backs of all-99 ability, and giving them names like “Ass Raper.” My buddy David, from the Rocky Mountain News, and I did that on his Gamecube in 2003. (A.R.’s alma mater was Yale.) David brought him out against Jim’s Seahawks and paused every replay so Jim (another RMN pal) could read the guy’s name and number aloud. Jim responded the next week by creating his entire family as 99ers. His dog caught eight touchdowns.

In the new big-tent Madden community, you won’t see things like Spite Bowl, Late-Hit Bowl, and Halfback Option Pass Bowl, complete perversions of the game that can only be dreamed up by two guys, playing on the same couch, at equivalent levels of skill and sobriety. Spite Bowl pits two guys playing as their friend’s biggest rival teams. The object is more “do not lose to those overrated sons of bitches” rather than “I want my team to win.” The 49ers and Dolphins are a hideous matchup this year — unless they’re being led by Bills and Raiders fans.

Late-Hit Bowl, the object was to get flagged for as many late hits as possible and if the other guy ended up on the one yard line or scored on the drive, you got his points. Halfback Option Pass Bowl was a game invented with two other friends in Oneonta, N.Y., on the Playstation version of Madden 98. The only play you could run was the option pass and the only defense you could call was a prevent. Naturally, when you employed drinking-game rules this game became a lot more fun.

And while you might be able to have an online league with 31 of your closest friends, who the hell is going to buy the Taco Bell? There’s no league I could play that will top the Friday Madden League in 2004, with three other co-workers from the Rocky. Four-way, in-person cooperative play tells you just how strong your friendship is when your pal does stupid shit like whiff on three straight kickoffs. It forces you to invent your own hand signals and decoys. You dream up celebrations and end zone dances that didn’t depend on motion capture, quicktime, or moving to an endzone hotspot and pressing the right button.

None of this is to say I won’t enjoy Madden 09, and it's silly to resent others for enjoying it in different ways. But the tone of the game experience seems to be changing. Madden 09’s new AI is meant to tell gamers of all skill levels that there’s no wrong way to play the game. But my friends and I delighted in playing the game the wrong way, and I’m sure we weren't alone. Doing stupid things together online doesn’t have the same appeal, and it no longer provokes the same reaction from the game. It’s a little like your parents giving you permission to cuss all you want. After a few willful minutes on your own, you give up, and join polite company as a well-adjusted participant.

Nintendo's quarterly earnings show that, while they're hardly raking in the big bucks, both consoles are still selling units and still making money well into 2008. While nobody in Japan, Europe, Asia or Australia bought a new GameCube between April and June, somewhere, somehow, 40,000 Americans did. As for the GBA, well, none were sold in the US, but globally, 180,000 of them found new homes. 180,000! If you ever wonder why Nintendo have never publicly proclaimed the death of the little handheld, that's probably why.

And we certainly don't do the consumer the disservice of basically saying that the consoles have gone by the wayside because we have a new one. Right now, a prime example? PS2 is nine years into it. Where's the Xbox? Where's the GameCube?

Same thing with the original PlayStation. At some point we looked around and asked what happened to the Saturn? Where's the N64? So if we're doing that, let's compare apples to apples, and for me, because we're on a ten year life cycle, unless we're talking ten years it doesn't really make that much sense to me.

The only way Kaz Hirai tracks time is with decades.

This is Living [GamesIndustry]

In this second assignment for Beyond Good & Evil you'll need to complete the Slaughterhouse section of the game. Make sure you don't play past that point because I'd like us all to be on the same page, so to speak. After playing through the chunk, try to think up some interesting questions and discussion topics. I will have a list of my own, but I'm hoping we can all ask each other interesting things to discuss.

The game is available for the Xbox (not backwards compatible) PS2, Gamecube and the PC via Steam and Gametap.

We'll be meeting on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. Eastern. Just come to the site and look for the Game Club Beyond Good & Evil Discussion post. Again sorry for the delay in putting this out to you all.

Hit the jump for the Game Club rules.

The Game Club is going to be conducted via the Internets, meaning, sadly, we won't all be meeting in Fahey's living room over coffee and crumpets to discuss the latest Game Club game. Instead, we will be meeting both on Kotaku and in a giant chat room.

I hope to dump the on-going discussion the group of people is having into the Kotaku post so those who couldn't make it in or who arrive late can still participate with one another.

Once in the room, I'll moderate the chat. The idea here is that we don't want a few dozen people all trying to talk about the game at the same time. So, I hope we can get someone to ask an intelligent question and then take turns discussing it. Remember this is a work in progress so we'll make tweaks to the mechanics of how this works as we proceed.

A cardinal rule will be that there will be no off-topic talking, no trolling, no flame wars, no fan-boyism in the chat or the person will be kicked out. We're all intelligent people, I don't see why we can't act like we are when gathered together online.

In general the idea is for people to discuss the current video game in a thoughtful and meaningful way. Why we won't totally disallow discussion of things like graphics and play mechanics, those particular topics should really be brought up in a way that addresses the deeper meaning and ideas presented in the game.

Each week I'll do a post outlining the Game Club's assignment. Please, no playing ahead. This could taint your views of what's currently going on in the section we hope to discuss.

Hopefully, this mostly makes sense. Ask your questions here about how this will work and I'll try to answer them.

We will be meeting weekly, on Monday's at 9:30 p.m. Eastern, though this month with the holiday and E3, is going to have an odd schedule. I'm pretty sure it will be easy to get through the game in four meetings. So let's plan on our first meeting to start on July 7 at 9:30 p.m. Eastern. Just come to the site and look for the Game Club Beyond Good & Evil Discussion post.

In this first assignment for Beyond Good & Evil you'll need to complete the the Black Isle Mines section of the game. Make sure you don't play past that point because I'd like us all to be on the same page, so to speak. After playing through the chunk, try to think up some interesting questions and discussion topics. I will have a list of my own, but I'm hoping we can all ask each other interesting things to discuss.

The game is available for the Xbox (not backwards compatible) PS2, Gamecube and the PC via Steam and Gametap.

Hit the jump for the Game Club rules.

The Game Club is going to be conducted via the Internets, meaning, sadly, we won't all be meeting in Fahey's living room over coffee and crumpets to discuss the latest Game Club game. Instead, we will be meeting both on Kotaku and in a giant chat room.

I hope to dump the on-going discussion the group of people is having into the Kotaku post so those who couldn't make it in or who arrive late can still participate with one another.

Once in the room, I'll moderate the chat. The idea here is that we don't want a few dozen people all trying to talk about the game at the same time. So, I hope we can get someone to ask an intelligent question and then take turns discussing it. Remember this is a work in progress so we'll make tweaks to the mechanics of how this works as we proceed.

A cardinal rule will be that there will be no off-topic talking, no trolling, no flame wars, no fan-boyism in the chat or the person will be kicked out. We're all intelligent people, I don't see why we can't act like we are when gathered together online.

In general the idea is for people to discuss the current video game in a thoughtful and meaningful way. Why we won't totally disallow discussion of things like graphics and play mechanics, those particular topics should really be brought up in a way that addresses the deeper meaning and ideas presented in the game.

Each week I'll do a post outlining the Game Club's assignment. Please, no playing ahead. This could taint your views of what's currently going on in the section we hope to discuss.

Hopefully, this mostly makes sense. Ask your questions here about how this will work and I'll try to answer them.

Anascape sued back in 2006 and went for the kitchen sink, claiming Nintendo and Microsoft both infringed on controller designs they had patented. Microsoft settled with Anascape. The original suit against Nintendo covered everything from the Gamecube forward — the Wavebird and the Classic, plus the Wiimote and Nunchuk. The case decided in May found infringements only on the former two not the motion-sensing controls in the Wii. Still, $21 million is not pocket change.

Nintendo's Appeal on Reduced $21M Verdict Denied [QJ.net]

The suit was quickly withdrawn by Morgan Creek... mysteriously!

It's really not that mysterious. According to a statement from Nintendo, the whole thing has been settled, with ad agency Leo Burnett reminding Morgan Creek that it had already entered into a music licensing agreement with the production company. Looks like all that was required was a "Sorry 'bout that!" The full statement follows.

A lawsuit filed by Morgan Creek Productions, Inc. against Nintendo of America was recently dismissed. The lawsuit alleged copyright infringement by Nintendo for its use of the song "You're So Cool" in a Nintendo GameCube television commercial produced by advertising agency Leo Burnett USA, Inc. In response to the lawsuit, Leo Burnett provided Morgan Creek Productions with a copy of a music license entered into between Leo Burnett USA, on behalf of Nintendo of America and Morgan Creek, for licensing of the song. The lawsuit was dismissed by Morgan Creek Productions the following day.

Excellent. Looks like nobody got hurt and the Nintendo war chest looking like it didn't lose a dime.

It's notable for being one of the few good uses for Donkey Konga bongo controllers and perfect as a response to confusing internet situations. You're welcome to make a copy with text that reads "I have no idea what you're talking about, so here's a picture of Amy Winehouse with bongo controllers."

Image via Bauer-Griffin.

There is a chance; we love all the games we work on. We don't want to be pigeon-holed [into a genre], we want to be known for strong content...There's a strong chance we'll return to it, but there's no announcements yet.

Dyack: Strong Chance Of Eternal Darkness Return News [TVG]

Nintendo Hate [Games Radar Thanks, Roxeraz!]

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Walker
Beyond Good and Evil
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
Super Mario Sunshin
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Pikmin
Pikmin 2
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
F-Zero GX
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Killer 7

Any thing missing? And keep in mind, these are exclusives we're talking about. (Well, save for Killer 7 and Beyond Good and Evil.
GameCube for Nintendo Newcomers [Infendo] [Pic]

Kirby enthusiasts will also take comfort in that the third Nintendo DS game, Hoshi no Kirby: Ultra Super Deluxe, is similarly tentatively scheduled for a 2008 release. The remake of the SNES classic Kirby Super Star will hopefully make it before the end of the year.

Both dates are, of course, subject to change, as is that bad-ass attitude of the pink, shoe-wearing sphere.

In Wii terms, that ain't nothin'.

With Nintendo now manufacturing 1.8 million Wiis a month and seemingly selling every one of those consoles, it won't be long until the Wii overtakes the GameCube... if it hasn't already.

PS3: Icon, NBA Street Homecourt, College Hoops 2007
PS2: Godhand, Lumines Plus, Onimusha Dawn of Dreams
PSP: Parappa the Rapper, Street Fighter 3 Alpha, Guity Gear Judgment
360: Condemned, Quake 4, Project Sylpheed, Meet The Robinsons,
Xbox: Jade Empire LE, Grand Theft Auto Double Pack
Wii: Avatar: The Last Airbender
GC: Hulk Ultimate Destruction
DS: Elite Beat Agents, Mario & Luigi Partners in Time, Children of Mana, Phoenix Wright 1
GBA: Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, Wario Twisted

Of course, titles will vary by location so you might have to do some digging to turn up something really good, but then that's half the fun with sales like these. You should also be aware that there is a limit of three titles per customer, so bring a non-gamer friend with you if you plan on going on a spree. To get all the info on this and other sales happening this weekend, check out CheapAssGamer.

Best of the Sunday Ad Video Game Deals (1/6 - 1/12) [CheapAssGamer]
[via GayGamer]

Upon entering I ordered my memory soaked breakfast and looked around to see a McDonalds branded Gamecube gaming station in the middle of the restaurant. Now, once again I never eat fast food so for all I know this could be a staple of McDs everywhere, but this was the first I'd seen of it. It had four separate sides, each emblazoned with a different McDonalds character including my favorite unclassifiable purple blob, Grimace. I got a little closer hoping to see what kind of games they had and maybe even play a round of something. Unfortunately it was all turned off so I started taking photos of it for posterity. Looking through my lens at the controllers I saw a site that made me reconsider that McMuffin.

The controller was the filthiest thing I had ever seen. Now, bear in mind that I had been in a myriad of truck stop bathrooms in my journey across the country, but these controllers were the worst by far. Just looking at them made me go immediately wash my hands about six times. Back in the U-haul I prayed that they payed closer attention to cleaning the rest of the place than they did to that game station as I bit into my surprisingly tasty greasy breakfast.

So, word of warning for all you intrepid traveling gamers: if you decide it would be a good idea to play some games on a McDonald's game station, check that controller before you touch it or at least carry along a gallon jug of hand sanitizer and a box of wet wipes. You'll need them.

From the original Metroid Prime to Echoes to Corruption, some great internal-only moments are revealed. That first hands-on with the Nintendo "Revolution"? I'd have been giddy, too.

Gamasutra has a fantastic write up of the session, which fans of Metroid shouldn't miss.

MIGS 2007: Retro Studios On The Journey Of Metroid Prime [Gamasutra]

I'll admit that it's sometimes hard to see the graphical differences between Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii and Super Mario Sunshine for the Gamecube, even in the HD version of the above clip. Obviously, there are bits in Galaxy that outshine it's predecessor in the visuals department, but it's hard not to look controlling FLUDD in Sunshine and not see a boiling red rage where gameplay is supposed to be. I suppose I'm more surprised that the Wii iteration wasn't as much of a graphical leap as I'd thought it was. Good thing graphics nitpickery loses out to gameplay every time.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

Animal Crossing Is Tragic [YTMND]
18. Animal Crossing [Kotaku via Spoilerium]

In Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, death is still permanent, but Battle Saves can make it less frustrating. If you need a mulligan in a nasty fight, load up a mid-battle save point. Hardcore fans will be happy to know, however, that in the game's hard mode, Battle Saves are not an option.

Another change that wasn't in the Japanese version of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, or its Gamecube predecessor is a native 16:9 aspect ratio, giving HDTV owners a better look at the battlefield. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn may not push any graphical boundaries—though its pre-rendered cutscenes are simply gorgeous—but we appreciate the extra space.

More gameplay changes for the Wii Fire Emblem include a new terrain mode, one that will add a new layer of strategy. Units on higher ground can attack those on lower ground, to an advantage of course, when not on the same level of terrain. New destructible portions of the map also open up new opportunities.

Other new additions include the revamped elemental magic system, new customizable skills and counterattacks from healers.

The game controls quite well with simply the Wii remote, either in vertical or horizontal position, but for those looking for something more familiar, Gamecube and Classic controllers are also supported.

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is out in just a few weeks, giving players little time to properly play the game before Super Mario Galaxy hits. Regardless of the holiday crunch, fans and newbs should both give it a look.

It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out over the next few years. While Microsoft seems like it's going to stay right where it is for the time being — in a solid position catering to the hardcore crowd - the real question at this time hovers around Sony and whether or not it's going to be able to repeat the success it had last generation with PS2. In the meantime, the newly formed Nintendo of Korea is riding high on the success of DS, and this is a streak it looks poised to continue with Wii.

Sony's Playstation 2 accounted for 42 percent of video game console usage during June far outstripping the Xbox, which had the second highest usage at 17 percent, according to Nielsen's latest GamePlay Metrics.

Rounding up the list of consoles was the Playstation 3 with just 1.5 percent of usage and the Wii with four percent.

Metrics found that 68.1 million people used a video game console in June, playing an average of 7.5 days during the month. On the days they played, Xbox 360 users logged an average of 2.2 sessions, with an average session length of 61 minutes. In contrast, PlayStation 3 users' logged an average of 1.9 sessions, with an average session length of 83 minutes, on the days they played.

Metrics also found that game play patterns shift seasonally. For instance in April, Wii's peak usage hour was 5PM, and now, during Summer Break, Wii usage peaks at 8 PM. Finally, Metrics reports that Wii households are upscale, with annual income more likely to be more than $100,000 income.

Hit the jump for a sexy numbers chart and the study's methodologies.

Nielsen GamePlay Metrics Methodologies
Nielsen GamePlay Metrics uses console data collected from the Nielsen's People Meter TV sample combined with Nielsen GamePlay Metrics' proprietary audio signature library that matches the unique audio signature of every game tracked on the six most widely available video game consoles, including PlayStation 2, PLAYSTATION 3, Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii and GameCube. The GamePlay Metrics user sample includes more than 12,000 households with approximately 33,000 individuals.

Nielsen GamePlay Metrics uses PC data collected from the Nielsen's Video Game Tracking Survey. Video Game Tracking is a weekly online survey of 1200 gamers 7 - 54 years of age. Qualifications include ownership of a console or PC, play video games at least 1 hour per week and have purchased at least one or more video games in the last 6 months. The Video Game Tracking online survey has been in the field for more than two years (104+ weeks).

Additional data, including rankings of console video game titles and the electronic metering of PC game titles are in testing and will be available to select Nielsen GamePlay Metrics clients in the near future. On July 5, 2007 Nielsen announced a collaborative agreement with Sony Computer Entertainment America to develop a measurement system for computer game advertising that includes the sharing of video game console data. The Nielsen-Sony data will also be provided within GamePlay Metrics service in the near future.

Man has GameCube. Man eats rice crackers. Man takes apart GameCube. Man puts GameCube innards in tissue box. Decorates tissue box with toys. What does man do with GameCube shell? Brian Ashcraft

GOOD MAN.

Fun With GameCube

Former GameCube bongo slapper DK Bongo Blast has removed the tired novelty of frantically whacking on plastic drum controllers, adding the fresh novelty of feverishly waggling a Wii remote and nunchuk controller. While I'm absolutely positive that Nintendo will give us GameCube bongo controller support in the final product—I own two pair Nintendo, make it happen—they're going to have a hard time convincing me to pick this racer up. I was burned by the promise of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, which I found entertaining for about 30 minutes and regrettable for the past two years. Still, those handsome Japanese gamers look like they're having a blast. Literally! Maybe not literally. Titularly! Michael McWhertor

I know that E3 is right around the corner, but I think if I keep putting off this first ever Game Club it may never come to fruition. So lets get this thing going.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you probably want to read this first. I still haven't come up with all of the details, but I have decided that what we will most likely do is include a limited number of people in the discussions in our Campfire room (a sort of big, secure chat room) and that we will then post the outcome of the chat in Kotaku for the rest of the readers to continue the discussion in. More details on how we will decide who gets in the door once we get going.

I suspect once we work the kinks out we will be choosing the game to feature in the Game Club, but for this first one ever I decided to would be nice to run a short poll to see which game you want featured. Hit the jump to vote and make sure you check out the three PC titles on the list, whether we pick them or not, they're all worth a play. Brian Crecente

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Amazon.com's Deal of the Day is often pretty crappy, but today they're actually listing something worth having for all you Gamecube owners. Today's special is the GC version of The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess for a mere $32.99. It's available with their free Super Saver Shipping if you don't mind waiting a couple of extra days, which, if you've waited this long to get it, probably isn't an issue. Flynn De Marco

Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess [Amazon.com]

After much speculation, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is playable on all four Wii compatible control schemes: Wii Remote, Wii Remote and Nunchuk, Classic Controller and the GameCube Controller. Blogs game creator Masahiro Sakurai over at Smash Bros. DOJO!!:

I guess I have no choice but implement them all!

There's no need to be confused about what does what—just choose the play style you prefer!

I suppose I would recommend the Nintendo GameCube controller, though. I like the feel of that powerful rumble.

Controller Set Up [Smash Bros. DOJO!! Thanks, Mike!]

The good news from O3 is that developer Milestone is "exploring options to bring this to North America as part of a future compilation on the Wii." That could mean a bundle with other Milestone developed shooters like Karous and Chaos Field, as the former has been announced for the Wii with the latter already published for the GameCube in the West.

Those still clutching to their purple 'Cubes can still look forward to Ratatouille. Michael McWhertor

For those of us who didn't feel "betrayed" and stomp our adult baby feet when faced with immature Link in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker nor dread the stylus controlled cuteness of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass comes a pair of plush Links that are perfect for snuggling. From the product description, they also appear to be compatible with cuddles.

Japanese manufacturer Sanei is bringing the plush duo of Links to Nintendo fans this fall with importer National Console Support now taking pre-orders. Large plush Link (at $29) is 12 1/2" tall while Small plush Link (only $16) measures just a hair over 7" in height. Perfect for your next Nintendo themed tea party! Michael McWhertor

Zelda no Densetsu: Link L and S Plushes [NCSX]

Capcom certainly agrees that "the innovative control system of the Wii would seem like a good match for the innovative gameplay of Killer 7" and leaves the door open for a future Wii port by writing "we cannot completely rule out the idea of a Killer 7 Wii at some point in the future." With response mostly positive, I can't help but think Capcom execs with yen signs in their eyes might change their mind and put the summer interns to work on it.

However, for now, you'll have to settle for the GameCube or PlayStation 2 version. Michael McWhertor

Killer 7 NOT planned for Wii at this time [Capcom]

While such a listing may simply be an error, it would make a great deal of sense. Killer 7's on-rails gameplay and point-and-shoot action are a good fit for the Wii-remote. Plus, the game would take advantage of the Wii's expanded audience, filling in holes in the console's "mature" category. Still, checking with the usual online retail suspects turns up nothing and recent interviews with Grasshoper honcho Goichi Suda reveal no hints about such a project.

I've got an e-mail in with Capcom to see what they have to say. While this is simply a rumor, something about it smells of truthiness. Michael McWhertor

Killer 7 [Capcom via NeoGAF]