Nintendo explains Euro Brawl wait [CVG]

The rest of charts sees two surprise entries: MLB2K8 at #8 and the PS3 version of Army of Two (the only PS3 game in the top 10) sneaking in at #10. Meanwhile Wii Play continues its march towards sales immortality, notching up another 400,000 units, while previous two-time winner Call of Duty 4 hold onto a spot in the top of the charts with the 360 version managing to sell 237,000 copies.

01. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) - 2,700,000
02. Rainbow Six Vegas (360) - 752,300
03. Army of Two (360) - 606,100
04. Wii Play/w Remote (Wii) - 409,800
05. God Of War: Chains Of Olympus (PSP) - 340,500
06. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP) - 301,600
07. Guitar Hero III (Wii) - 264,100
08. MLB2K8 (360) - 237,100
09. Call Of Duty 4 (360) - 237,000
10. Army Of Two (PS3) - 224,900

Software sales for the month amounted to $945 million, a rise of 63% over last year's March sales of "only" $579.1 million.

Lucky for us, we weren't the only ones permanently scarred by the sight of a singlet-wearing, gold-dipped high school wrestler. The assistant manager of a EB Games said he and his fellow employees broke into gales of laughter when they unboxed the trophy at their story. Fortunately, they figured out a way to make the trophy more SSBB "appropriate."

I like it!

[Thanks Brett]

As always feel free to hang-out, mock my gaming skills and ask questions which I may or may not get to.

Luckily, due to my good fortune of being related to an EB Games employee, I was invited to attend the SSBB Retailer Event, held in five cities across Canada on Friday, February 29.

Each event was hosted by a boxing gym, in hopes of setting the dramatic stage for one of Nintendo's most anticipated releases. It also proved a good way to hide the event from the eyes of the general public.

Although I noticed after we left, it should have been a lot more obvious.

Walking into the gym, it felt as if we were part of some sort of secret club (despite the blatant advertising outside). We ascended two staircases to finally reach our destination.

And at the top of those stairs, it was an entirely different world. The boxing ring and other proof that in another world, this was a gym, were hidden from view, obscured by bright consoles and people everywhere.

We managed to avoid the main rush, so getting hands-on time with the games wasn't too difficult. The one thing I missed out on was the eight man tourney and the two player co-op demos going on in the ring, but judging by the rapt attention everyone in the ring was paying, I'm thinking they were both pretty good.

When I finally got my hands on a controller, I have to admit, I was pleasantly relieved. For me, I found Melee to be a frustrating experience: something didn't exactly mesh between the way SSB evolved into SSBM. This game, however, is easy to pick up, but takes a little bit to get really good at, just like the original Smash.

I'll be the first to admit I'm a fan of Nintendo and Smash, so me gushing over this game should come as no surprise. But even taking that into account, I do have to go on about how happy I am with the evolution of this franchise. This game takes all the ideas from the first two games, and moves in a very natural direction - something that shouldn't be unique, but often is. The characters and levels all look very clean and pretty, just like you'd expect, but it's the little things about the game that really made me take notice. In the first round I played, I was Bowser and my brother was Wario. If Wario transformed onto his motorcycle, but was then knocked off, Bowser could pick up the motorcycle and throw it around. More than that, he could throw pieces of the motorcycle around (I got a good shot in with one of the wheels).

While playing, I overheard two people discussing the game behind me. One guy said to his friend, "a lot of the characters are fun, but if you want to actually get serious and win, you have to pick one of the real fighters." Not entirely true, but an interesting sentiment to think about, nonetheless. Smash has evolved to now offer something to everyone. There's the fun, gimmicky characters that anyone can play, or there's the traditional fighters featured in the game, for people who want the feeling of a "real" fighter. SSBB is another step in the direction of Nintendo trying to cater to a wider audience - this time, without forgetting the real gamers - and they seem to have succeed.

What stood out to me were the final smashes (and really, shouldn't that be the way it is?). They took a little bit of getting used to, but once I got the hang of it, they look really, really cool. I pulled off a smash with Shiek, and watching him slice through two of your enemies really makes you sit back and go "...wow."

Of course, Smash has long been a game built around memories of the characters, settings, and especially old matches against friends. This was true for me even at this brief SSBB event, when I managed to pull off a very unexpected victory with Mario, my faithful character of choice from when I started playing at the age of 12. Winning a match of SSBB really does give you that same feeling of accomplishment that was so strong with the original Super Smash Bros, which I definitely think is a good thing.

Bully: Scholarship Edition (Wii, X360)
Rockstar's Bully comes to the Wii and 360 with optimized graphics and all new missions.

Let's Ride! Friends Forever (DS)
"Every girl needs a best friend, and yours is your horse! Together, there's nothing you can't do."

Major League Baseball 2K8 (PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, X360)
MLB '08: The Show (PS2, PS3, PSP)
Performance enhancing drugs not included.

Army of Two (PS3, X360)
The third-person shooter with a heavy reliance on partnership hits the streets.

Chicken Hunter (DS)
Shoot the chickens while they run amok.

Imagine: Figure Skater (DS)
Following in the footsteps of Imagine Fashion Designer, Imagine Animal Doctor, Imagine Babyz and Imagine Master Chef.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
You won't have to wait much longer - it's set to be released March 9th, 2008.

[via GoNintendo]

About a week ago, Nintendo and HAL Laboratories teased with a Super Smash Bros. Brawl countdown site. Each day the site clicked off, getting closer to the fabled site opening. Today was that day, and for most of it the site simply said "Starting Today (Japan Time)." Now, it's a little after 4:00pm, and the new site has finally opened, revealing...

...Information about the game's composers and a description of what Super Smash Bros. Brawl is. If you are clicking on a countdown site, chances are you know what the hell the game concept is. And info about the title's songs? Sure, composers like Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage) are impressive, but worth building up to for a week? Gee, thanks! After you are able to see through the burning red clouding up your eyes, the rest of the site contains some screenshots.

Game companies, unless you have something to actually countdown to, STOP WITH THE FRIGGIN' COUNTDOWN CLOCKS. They're just a ploy — A rotten one at that. Brian Ashcraft

Smashbros.com [Official Site]

For those who like staring at kettles and waiting for water to boil, the Super Smash Bros. Brawl countdown site is up and counting. As of posting, it says the official SSBB site will launch in seven days (Japan time). And look, here's a Japanese version of the page, which looks to be the same. What wonders will the actual site hold? Images? Maybe! Text? Definitely? A release date? No clue! This internet countdown hype is making my head hurt. Gonna go take a breather. Back in five. Brian Ashcraft

SSBB [Official Site, Thanks to all who sent this in!]

The official UK Nintendo magazine picked the brain of longtime Sega employee and Sonic producer Yojiro Ogawa to get his thoughts on the oft-requested inclusion of the sassy blue hedgehog in Nintendo's upcoming Wii fighter Super Smash Bros. Brawl. His thoughts?

In my personal opinion, it would be great to have Sonic in it. But that would really involve Sonic and Nintendo's management, it's nothing to do with me!

Huh. It's not a denial. Maybe we can expect that Mario and Sonic crossover after all? Yeah, I'm not holding my breath either. Ogawa also spoke about his inspiration for Sonic's upcoming Wii adventure, a concept many gamers hoping for the mascot's return to glory can most likely get behind.

The original Mega Drive Sonic game used only one button and the controls were very simple. That allowed gamers to experience high-speed gameplay and that was something I used as a concept for this title as well.

Chant with me now. Please be good. Please be good. Please be good. Michael McWhertor

Sonic And The Secret Rings: Interview And Impressions [OUKNM]

Super Smash Bros Brawl producer Sora Sakurai announced today that they will be showing off new footage from the upcoming Wii game at the Nintendo World 2006 event in Japan.

The video will include new characters, so it's a must see.

Good thing we have Ashcraft going to the event. Make sure to check back for our coverage and the unveiling of the new characters. Come on Master Chief. Brian Crecente

Smash Bros [Thanks Ryan for the heads up and translation]

The official Super Smash Bros. Brawl site has updated with some new screenshots. Hop on over to the site and click through the characters to check out the new images. Brian Crecente

Smash Bros Characters

The game will feature a lot of favorites as well as tons of new comers including, get this, Solid Snake. Yes, the Solid Snake of Metal Gear Solid fame. Konami actually approched Nintendo about including him in their game. Nintendo says they think the announcement of Snake in the game will open the door for other third-party opportunities.

Other newcomers include:

Nintendogs, Metaknight, Pit, Zero Suit Samus and Wario.

Apparently, all Nintendo has for the new Super Smash Brothers title is the video they just showed. Miyamoto is taking questions from journalists now.

The game will likely use the traditional GameCube controller and not the Wii controller, according to developer Masahiro Sakurai. And yes, Wario will have a fart move.

The single player mode in the game will be much more robust this time around, according to Miyamoto.

Super Smash Brothers Brawl will come out in 2007.

Updates will soon be appearing on a new site set to launch called Smashbrosdojo.com.