News from Nickspoon

After much deliberation, procrastination and hibernation, I and a panel of highly qualified judges I found on IRC have come to a final decision. So, the moment you've all been waiting (months too long) for:

The winners of the bitter taste of defeat are:
3. Guyfawkes - Walking Simulator Extreme

Guyfawkes' wonderful entry combines the enjoyment of walking with the pain of dehydration in his highly addictive, heart-wrenching tale of a traveller on a flat desert.

2. A_SN - Run, Hitler, Run!

The combination of a brilliantly rendered Parisian backdrop, silly French people and Hitler levitating have transformed what would have been a pile of crap into a pile of crap which has brought me seconds of entertainment.

And finally, the winner of the 20p and the Toffee Crisp is...

1. Anppa and Sonistar - Don't Press Any Button

Just as I thought nothing would outdo "Run, Hitler, Run!" this gem appears. Based on not doing anything, it strives to deprive you of your sacred right to kill infuriating people.

A special bonus mention goes to Glouton for absolutely failing to be crap.

All the entries and their respective reviews are available here: http://nickspoon.phpnet.us/gp2xcgc

But that isn't all. Soon enough, there will be a community vote thingy, so get thinking of your favourite entry. The winner will obtain the coveted GP2XCGC trophy (pictures to come). Winners of actual physical prizes will need to contact me with their address. ...

SSF the Sega Saturn emulator for windows has yet again been updated, cant tell you whats new but download for yourself here --> http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~phantasy/ssf/index.html ...

New from SuccessHK and with WORLDWIDE SHIPPING are the 2 new Pokemon games from Nintendo.



The first DS chapter of the continuing saga of Nintendo's "collect 'em all" RPG series. Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl offer a number of exciting new features to please both experienced and new Pokemon fans alike. Set in an entirely new region called "Sinnoh," players can choose to begin their adventure as either a boy or girl Pokemon trainer on a path to becoming Pokemon League Champion. The adventure continues as players can bring Pokemon from their Game Boy Advance Pokemon games to Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl using the GBA game slot on their Nintendo DS. As players trade and collect Pokemon to complete their Pokedex in this new challenge, for the first time they'll have the chance to catch new Pokemon, Munchlax and Weavile. They also can play via local wireless with up to eight other trainers while new moves and abilities deepen strategy. ...

New from SuccessHK

This exclusive Wii version of the popular bubble-bursting puzzle series utilizes the unique interactivity of the Wii Remote to bring Bust-A-Move franchise fans a completely new way to experience the game. Bust-A-Move Bash! features 10 different characters, including franchise favorites Bub and Bob as well as many new additions. Players will experience a variety of game modes including: Puzzle Mode (with 500 levels across five different puzzle areas), Endless Mode, Vs. Mode (for up to 8 players), and Shooting Mode. In addition, a new Hyper option speeds up game play while the Slip feature allows players to connect fired bubbles to similar colors even though their aim may be off. ...

Heres the sales and yet again Nintendo are doing extremely well in japan:

- DS Lite: 133,325
- Wii: 75,759
- PSP: 24,850
- PS2: 12,872
- PS3: 11,948
- Xbox 360: 2,900
- GBA SP: 654
- Game Boy Micro: 617
- Gamecube: 167
- DS Phat: 146
- GBA: 26 ...

via joystiq

"God of Wa: Chains of Olymp" which we assume is most of the title of the God of War PSP game. It's set to complete its display in a couple of days when we hope it will say God of War: Chains of Olympics 2008: Kratos & Mario & Sonic. But it will probably say God of War: Chains of Olympus, because that's just the way life works.

You know what else? We're not going to tell you how we found it. We'll just say it's the latest addition to IslandOfRhodes.org, which has become a veritable cornucopia of GoW secrets, and leave it at that. If you're interested in tracking this title down, we're sure that you can find that sort of info, but you're not getting it from us. Trust us, it's an hour of random clicking that you're just not going to get back, and by keeping it from you, we have given you the gift of an hour of your life. Now go, and please ... pay it forward.

More Info ...

via joystiq

It doesn't matter how many times he experiences failure or comes close to no longer being able to practice law -- there is always somebody willing to listen to Jack Thompson. No time was this more obvious than this week following the Virgina Tech massacre. Before the dead were counted, the shooter named or anyone really could wrap their brain around what had just happened, Thompson was already on Fox News as a "school shooting expert" spouting theories and Fox News let it slide without challenge.

The situation was exacerbated Tuesday when the Washington Post impulsively reported video game related information they later retracted. By mid-week information was starting to turn against Thompson and even Hardball's Chris Matthews wasn't buying what Thompson was selling anymore. By yesterday the "Jacklash" was in full effect, the boulder rolled down the hill again and Jack "Sisyphus" Thompson will have to start over again -- without the help of using Take Two as his punching bag.

In GamePolitics' recap of the week's events they have a quote from the International Game Developers Association's Jason Della Rocca who says, "It's so sad. These massacre chasers - they're worse than ambulance chasers - they're waiting for these things to happen so they can jump on their soapbox." But as sure as the sun will rise and the moon will set, Jack Thompson is already rolling his boulder back up the hill waiting for the next tragedy that he can blame on video games. ...

via kotaku

A few weeks ago, Stephen Munn over at Aeropause reported that Nintendo was replacing Twilight Princess discs (Wii version) that had been affected by the "Cannon Room Glitch." Stephen unfortunately got caught in this trap and dutifully returned his disc to Nintendo for replacement. Well, the new disc came back and Stephen says that once again all is well in Hyrule.

Starting the new Zelda disc the first time brings a message, "Initiating System Update." On confirmation, it does a very quick update (apparently from the disc), and then brings you back to the Wii Menu... Upon opening the game, Shad is in the room. Speaking to him makes him leave.
The problem with this bug was that the character of Shad was nowhere to be found in the room to talk to after saving and shutting off the console in the Big Cannon Room. If you talked to Midna and tried to warp out of the room, she would tell you you couldn't because "That guy is watching us." Searching for Shad in the room came up with nothing despite what some forums would have you believe about him being "invisible", thus making it impossible to leave the room.

So, if you were a victim of this unfortunate incident and were unsure about sending your disc back, you can rest assured that the new replacement will fix the issue. There is no word yet on whether this will also fix the Eldin Bridge glitch that was also present on some versions. ...

via gamespot

When it was first published in 2005, the book Freakanomics caused quite a stir. Among other things, authors Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner used statistics and economic theory to axamine such hot-button topics as the crack epidemic, abortion, and cheating amongst professional Sumo wrestlers.



Now, Freakanomics' authors have turned their attention to something of particular interest to gamers--or their blog has, anyway. This week, guest columnist Paul Kimmelman wrote a detailed breakdown of the causes, effects, and implications of the shortage of Wii consoles, which has been going on since the system was released last year.

"Nintendo clearly made a colossal blunder in setting up their manufacturing," concludes Kimmelman. "Even if they assumed it would not do very well, their inability to ramp up production in four months is pretty unusual in this industry."

Kimmelman sees several groups benefiting from the shortage. First are other console-makers, since frustrated Wii-seekers with excess cash might be inclined to impulse-buy another machine when faced with empty shelves.

Other, equally obvious beneficiaries are Wii resellers. Kimmelman's research finds scalpers are making 150 percent and 180 percent of the console's $249 sticker price on such sites as eBay--with none of the increased profit going to Nintendo or retailers.

However, Kimmelman does believe stores are benefiting from "increased foot traffic" by customers returning repeatedly in search of a Wii and buying other items while on the hunt. He even theorizes that Nintendo might actually be causing the shortage deliberately at the behest of retailers to artificially create return customers.

When contacted by GameSpot, Nintendo reps said they were "reading over" the article. No official response had been sent as of press time. ...