There's good news and bad news about Metal Slug 7 on Xbox Live Arcade. The bad news is that we're pretty sure it's not coming out. The good news is that Metal Slug XX, the upgraded, multiplayer-capable PSP remix of the DS game, is replacing it in SNK's 2010 lineup. SNK also announced XBLA ports of two of its fighting games: King of Fighters 2002 Ultimate Match and Neo Geo Battle Coliseum. All three will join the weird King of Fighters shooting game, The King of Fighters Sky Stage, on XBLA in spring 2010.

These games have, so far, been announced only for Japan, but we are sure SNK will release them all worldwide -- if only because it would be a waste of effort to develop an XBLA title just for the few people in Japan who would buy it.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/12/07/sn...xbla-in-japan/ ...

There's some classic platforming to be had in both Rayman and Shinobi in this week's Nintendo downloads, and even a way to deal with Jack's overabundance of stress in Stop Stress: A Day of Fury. There's over ten titles in all, so cruise past the break for the full list.

DSiWare
Rayman (Ubisoft, 1 player, 800 DSi Points): Michel Ancel's classic has been available for the DS for quite some time now, but those with a taste for downloads can fetch this cartridge-less version starting today on the DSi.
Ball Fighter (Teyon, 1 - 2 players, 500 DSi Points): If you've got a prejudice against spheroids, then Ball Fighter just might be your cup of tea. By matching balls of the same color in this puzzle title, you essentially eliminate them from existence. How could you be so heartless?!
Pop Island (odenis studio, 1 - 8 players, 500 DSi Points): A variant on the popular game, Capture the Flag, Pop Island charges players with gathering up flags on a variety of planets, using the talents of members of the animal kingdom (e.g. surfing penguins, flying fish and water-skiing crocodiles). Utilizing DS Download Play, you can even get seven of your DSi-owning friends involved.
Army Defender (Mindscape, 1 player, 200 DSi Points): This is a Tower Defense game where you literally man a tower and defend you base from waves of enemy attacks. It also includes a kind of Ikaruga-like ammo system where players must flip between green and red ammo to take out enemies of the corresponding color.
myNotebook: Red (Nnooo, 1 player, 200 DSi Points): This DSi application allows you to take notes directly on your DSi system. No, seriously, that's what this does.
WiiWare
My Dolphin (T&S Ltd., 1 player, 500 Wii Points): Become a dolphin trainer and conduct live shows with the aquatic mammals in this game from T&S Ltd. And if you're dying to give your virtual dolphin all of the things an animal star deserves, you can spend your real money on in-game toys like balls and rings.
Magnetis (Yullaby, 1 - 4 players, 500 Wii Points): This is a puzzle game where you must connect corresponding magnets to create explosions and not a game based on Magneto's little brother. The game includes co-operative and competitive modes for up to four players.
Stop Stress: A Day of Fury (Abylight, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): I am Jack's sense of unresolved stress -- er, rather, players are in this game from Abylight. Pick up Jack's trusty baseball bat and "beat a path through traffic or at the office, and face off against incredible hallucinations."
Flowerworks (Nocturnal Entertainment, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points): While on her way to visit her grandmother, Follie's ship -- which is packed to the brim with Flowerworks seeds -- suddenly crashes on a drab planet called Elilia. Players must help Follie navigate the planet and locate all of the missing seeds in this "20-hour adventure."
Virtual Console
Street Fighter Alpha 2 (SNES, 1 - 2 players, 800 Wii Points): Back when the Saturn and the PlayStation were the new hotness on the console scene, the SNES was beginning to conclude its time on store shelves -- but that didn't stop it from getting its own version of Street Fighter Alpha 2. While the best way to play this game was undoubtedly on Sega and Sony's consoles, the SNES port actually isn't that bad.
Shinobi (VC Arcade, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): It feels weird to finally get Shinobi, considering the third game and first Sega Genesis title have been available for a while now. Still, it's nice to finally check out the Arcade game that started it all.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/12/07/ni...street-fighte/ ...

There's some classic platforming to be had in both Rayman and Shinobi in this week's Nintendo downloads, and even a way to deal with Jack's overabundance of stress in Stop Stress: A Day of Fury. There's over ten titles in all, so cruise past the break for the full list.

DSiWare
Rayman (Ubisoft, 1 player, 800 DSi Points): Michel Ancel's classic has been available for the DS for quite some time now, but those with a taste for downloads can fetch this cartridge-less version starting today on the DSi.
Ball Fighter (Teyon, 1 - 2 players, 500 DSi Points): If you've got a prejudice against spheroids, then Ball Fighter just might be your cup of tea. By matching balls of the same color in this puzzle title, you essentially eliminate them from existence. How could you be so heartless?!
Pop Island (odenis studio, 1 - 8 players, 500 DSi Points): A variant on the popular game, Capture the Flag, Pop Island charges players with gathering up flags on a variety of planets, using the talents of members of the animal kingdom (e.g. surfing penguins, flying fish and water-skiing crocodiles). Utilizing DS Download Play, you can even get seven of your DSi-owning friends involved.
Army Defender (Mindscape, 1 player, 200 DSi Points): This is a Tower Defense game where you literally man a tower and defend you base from waves of enemy attacks. It also includes a kind of Ikaruga-like ammo system where players must flip between green and red ammo to take out enemies of the corresponding color.
myNotebook: Red (Nnooo, 1 player, 200 DSi Points): This DSi application allows you to take notes directly on your DSi system. No, seriously, that's what this does.
WiiWare
My Dolphin (T&S Ltd., 1 player, 500 Wii Points): Become a dolphin trainer and conduct live shows with the aquatic mammals in this game from T&S Ltd. And if you're dying to give your virtual dolphin all of the things an animal star deserves, you can spend your real money on in-game toys like balls and rings.
Magnetis (Yullaby, 1 - 4 players, 500 Wii Points): This is a puzzle game where you must connect corresponding magnets to create explosions and not a game based on Magneto's little brother. The game includes co-operative and competitive modes for up to four players.
Stop Stress: A Day of Fury (Abylight, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): I am Jack's sense of unresolved stress -- er, rather, players are in this game from Abylight. Pick up Jack's trusty baseball bat and "beat a path through traffic or at the office, and face off against incredible hallucinations."
Flowerworks (Nocturnal Entertainment, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points): While on her way to visit her grandmother, Follie's ship -- which is packed to the brim with Flowerworks seeds -- suddenly crashes on a drab planet called Elilia. Players must help Follie navigate the planet and locate all of the missing seeds in this "20-hour adventure."
Virtual Console
Street Fighter Alpha 2 (SNES, 1 - 2 players, 800 Wii Points): Back when the Saturn and the PlayStation were the new hotness on the console scene, the SNES was beginning to conclude its time on store shelves -- but that didn't stop it from getting its own version of Street Fighter Alpha 2. While the best way to play this game was undoubtedly on Sega and Sony's consoles, the SNES port actually isn't that bad.
Shinobi (VC Arcade, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): It feels weird to finally get Shinobi, considering the third game and first Sega Genesis title have been available for a while now. Still, it's nice to finally check out the Arcade game that started it all.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/12/07/ni...street-fighte/ ...

Forget the DSi XL, Nintendo should look to the past for its next handheld console. Or, just commission the modder-maestro Zenlock for a heap of portable N64s, so we can revisit The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in style.

Purported to be one of the world's smallest portable N64 mods at 120 x 200 x 50mm, it's being sold on eBay now for $205 after 26 bids, with all buyers safe in the knowledge that the modder likes his food extra spicy.

http://gizmodo.com/5420555/hark-back...e-portable-n64 ...

I must check my own forums more, but anyway, Alex the coder of Dreamshell has posted about the release of Battle City for the MegaDrive/Genesis, looks a great retro game.

Check it out Here --> http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/sho...d.php?t=246737 ...

More on the Flashcard ruling from last week:

In a blow to its ongoing battle against video game piracy, platform holder Nintendo has lost a lawsuit against a manufacturer of a DS Flash card.
Ruling in favour of the Divineo Group, a French judge accused Nintendo of deliberately locking out developers from its range of hardware, adding that it should adopt a system more like Microsoft’s Windows where anyone is free to develop applications that run on the OS.
The enthusiastic report on Maxconsole suggests that the ruling indicates that Flash cards are legal and that it could pave the way for open platform development on DS and Wii.
In reality, one ruling from one sovereign state is unlikely to change the global stance of Flash card piracy – particularly in light of the growing moves to clamp down on such accessories in other, larger markets such as the UK and Japan.
Nintendo told MCV that: “We are reviewing the judgement and it would be inappropriate to comment at this stage”.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/36773/Nint...h-card-lawsuit ...

Pro skateboarder accuses critics of being ‘snarky’ as game fails to enter UK Top 40
Globally recognised pro skateboarder Tony Hawk has spoken in defence of Activision’s Tony Hawk: Ride, accusing many critics of failing to give the game the credit he feels it deserves.
“Most snarky critics had their minds set before ever seeing/playing the game,” Hawk said on his Twitter profile. “I'm proud of what we created; it's innovative, responsive and fun.”
The star then added to The Sudbury Star, courtesy of VG247: "[Critics] were ready to discredit it before they even tried it, and if it didn’t play exactly how they imagined it then they passed it off.
"I don’t agree with people who say the board’s not responsive. I think that they’re just not giving it a fair shake. I brought this idea to Activision, and I saw it through, I’ve been playing it every step of the way and I am very proud of it."
The comments came ahead of the news that Tony Hawk: Ride has failed to enter the ELSPA GfK-ChartTrack All Formats Top 40 in its first week of release.

It’s aggregated Metacritic rating currently stands at 48 (for the Xbox 360 version). The RRP for the game in the UK is £99.99.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/36774/Tony-Hawk-defends-Ride ...

New Super Mario Bros Wii has sold 936,734 units during its first week on sale in Japan, making it the fastest selling week one Wii title in the region to date.

The Famitsu sales figures put the title ahead of previous week one high sellers Super Smash Bros Brawl (816,198), Mario Kart Wii (608,147) and Monster Hunter 3 (582,548).

According to Andriasang, the game sold over 422,000 copies in its first day alone.

The game has performed well in the UK charts too, entering at number three after Assassin's Creed 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Analyst Colin Sebastian noted last month the its sales had got "off to a good start after three days at retail", although added it wasn't yet apparent if the title had driven incremental hardware sales.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-week-in-japan ...

Heres an article which should interest many of todays homebrew coders when releasing clones or fan games.

an excerpt


Full article --> http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...=Google+Reader ...