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New Super Mario Bros. Wii Has Already Outsold Mario Galaxy
I’m not sure if this is sad or impressive – probably a bit of both – but New Super Mario Bros. Wii has, in a little over two months, already managed to outsell Nintendo’s last Mario game, Super Mario Galaxy. NPD figures reveal that while Galaxy has sold 4.1 million copies in North America since…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 22, 2010 -
The Wii Gets Its First Black Box, Maybe Its Best Box Art
Nintendo is letting another game that isn’t New Super Mario Bros. Wii break the tradition of white Wii game cases, giving Sandlot’s Zangeki no REGINLEIV a chance to stand out from its peers with a sharp looking black box. The gory, giant slaying action game Zangeki no REGINLEIV—formerly known as Dynamic Zan—is scheduled for a…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 21, 2010 -
Reviews
Dark Void Zero Micro-Review: Classic, Focused Fun
Dark Void Zero is built around not one, but two stories. One is a story of a jet pack wearing hero named Rusty trying to stop the invasion of Earth by aliens. The second is the fiction surrounding the game’s creation, a false history that claims the game is a remake of a classic NES-era…
By Brian Crecente Published January 21, 2010 -
Super Mario Bros., with Fake Boobs and Fake Bakes
To satirize self-styled guidos (and guidettes) who better than Mario and Luigi? Dr. Coolsex, the group behind Mario Kart: The Movie, give us this send-up of TV fad Jersey Shore, and introduce to our lexicon the phrase “star-stealing koopa f***er.” [via Gay Gamer]
By Owen Good Published January 20, 2010 -
Nintendo Trademarks Luigi’s Mansion (Again)
Nintendo of America has taken the somewhat unexpected step of reviving its Luigi’s Mansion trademark, either a sign of its very protective trademarking desires or a renewed interest in giving Luigi more face time with gamers. It may be nothing more than the former, as Nintendo already has seven Luigi’s Mansion trademarks—three “live,” four “dead”…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 20, 2010 -
Some WiiWare Developers Not Exactly Thrilled With Nintendo
Of all the major platforms and services out there, Nintendo’s WiiWare is probably the most under-promoted and under-utilised (PSP mini’s aside). Something developers are not happy about. “We feel that Nintendo is not doing enough to promote the service at all,” JV Games’ Jag Jaege (Pong Toss) tells GI.biz. “We feel that the vast majority…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 20, 2010 -
Super Monkey Ball And The Most Appropriate Cross Promotion Ever
When you have a game like Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll, which centers on collecting bananas, you couldn’t pick a better cross-promoting partner than the leading distributor of bananas in the United States, Chiquita. Starting next month, more than 180 million Chiquita bananas will feature stickers promoting Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll for…
By Mike Fahey Published January 19, 2010 -
Fans Localize Fatal Frame 4
Nintendo’s decision to withhold Fatal Frame 4 from Western release didn’t sit well with fans, so a group of them has produced an English patch that translates the game for players in North America and Europe. Fatal Frame 4, known in Japan as Zero: Tsukihami no Kame, won’t see a U.S. retail release any time…
By Mike Fahey Published January 19, 2010 -
Catch Ho-Oh Or Lugia When You Preorder Pokémon
Nintendo gets your Pokémon collection started with these figures of Ho-Oh and Lugia, yours when you preorder Pokémon HeartGold or SoulSilver for the Nintendo DS. Starting February 1st, select retailers will be offering these two limited edition figures for customers who preorder these latest Pokémon remakes, with HeartGold customers scoring Ho-Oh and SoulSilver pre-purchasers walking…
By Mike Fahey Published January 19, 2010 -
Wii Balance Board Goes Forth In The Name Of Science
While the Wii Balance Board‘s usefulness as a fitness device are questionable, there’s no doubts over its ability to perform as a…rehabilitative “force platform”. That’s a device used by doctors to measure the balance of a person recovering from a stroke (or similar injury), employed when the patient is “relearning” how to walk. While lab-grade…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 19, 2010 -
Super Mario Bros Wii. Fastest Wii Title To Hit Three Million In Japan
Going on sale in Japan on December 3, 2009, Wii title New Super Mario Bros. Wii has sold over 3 million games. In Japan, that’s not just fast for a Wii title, it’s the fastest. In its first seven weeks on sale, the game moved 3,002,753 units, making it the fastest title to hit the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 19, 2010 -
The Big Three All See Revenues Drop in 2009
Revenues were down for most video game companies in 2009, and the big three platform holders were no exception. Pretty clear, but if you need it spelled out a little clearer, nice graphs tend to do the trick. Put together by NPD fetishist Matt Matthews over at Gamasutra, it shows the decline in revenue all…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 19, 2010 -
Reviews
Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth Micro-Review: Something M2 Whipped Up
Konami goes back to Castlevania’s roots with Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, as the series joins Gradius and Contra to get the Konami ReBirth treatment. Once again, developer M2 takes a long, hard look at a classic Konami franchise and produces a retro-styled rehash. This time around the game is Castlevania: The Adventure, the 1989 Game…
By Mike Fahey Published January 18, 2010 -
Nintendo Spot Makes UK Most Irritating Ad List, But Isn’t That Annoying
A Nintendo DS ad took the number nine spot among the most irritating TV ads aired in the UK last year, as determined by England’s Marketing magazine. The ad doesn’t seem that annoying to me, but then I have no attachment to its stars, British comedians Ant and Dec. Now, the number one ad is…
By Stephen Totilo Published January 18, 2010 -
The Nintendo Download: Everybody Let’s Muscle March
Men (and bears) in tight bikini briefs invade the Nintendo Download this week, bringing Dark Void Zero, Starship Defense, The Secret of Shinobi, and more along for the wild ride. Namco Bandai’s Muscle March (500 Wii points) is one of the oddest titles to hit the WiiWare service so far. Thieves have made off with…
By Mike Fahey Published January 18, 2010 -
Nintendo Claims DSi XL Not Only For Old People
The DSi XL‘s larger size, jumbo touch pen, bigger screen and refined old people colors (Wine Red?) made it seem like the DSi XL is targeted at old people. That’s not necessarily true, says Nintendo. When the DSi XL launched in Japan late last year as the DSi LL, Nintendo rolled out an ad campaign…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 18, 2010 -
Man Facing Prison Over R4 Cartridges
It’s not just the Japanese throwing people in prison over R4 flash cartridges; Britain is in on the act too, with a man sentenced to prison for importing R4 carts. Yun Can Meng, a British resident, will spend the next twelve months behind bars after importing 26,500 of the cartridges, with the intention of selling…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 18, 2010 -
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom vs. Robot Chicken
If this pitch for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Ultimate All-Stars looks Robot Chicken-inspired, well, it was. The spot will air on at least three networks. “Our ad agency had the idea to create this stop-motion short (a la Robot Chicken) to celebrate the zanyness of the game. Since it wasn’t something that I recall any other…
By Owen Good Published January 17, 2010 -
Project Runway Consultant: Mario is Dressed “Appropriately”
With Project Runway: The Video Game asking gamers to make virtual appraisals of real fashion, MTV Multiplayer flipped the premise, asking the show’s Tim Gunn to make a real appraisal of virtual clothing. In this case, Mario’s. Give Gunn this, he played ball. Asked to give a critique, he gave one, no silly puns or…
By Owen Good Published January 16, 2010