via gamespot

While Nintendo has added a steady stream of downloadable games to its Wii Virtual Console service every Monday since the system's November launch, the publisher has generally offered its legitimate classics with less renowned offerings. That won't be the case this coming Monday, as Nintendo is celebrating the Christmas holiday by releasing a quintet of high-profile retro games on the Virtual Console.

For its own part, Nintendo is releasing the original NES classic Super Mario Bros. for 500 Wii points ($5). Backing up the company's portly plumbers will be a pair of best sellers from the Super Nintendo era: Capcom's Street Fighter II: The World Warrior and Konami's Super Castlevania IV. Each of those games will sell for 800 Wii points ($8).

The final two games announced for release Christmas Day are pulled from non-Nintendo platforms. The Sega Genesis game ToeJam & Earl dances its funky way onto the Virtual Console, followed by the TurboGrafx-16 shoot-'em-up R-Type, both for 800 Wii points ($8). The R-Type price is notable since all previous TurboGrafx-16 games on the Virtual Console have sold for 600 Wii points ($6).

Finally, Nintendo also announced a pair of games that would be released for the Virtual Console the Monday after Christmas, New Year's Day. The publisher will start the new year by swinging for the fences with Baseball and fighting in the streets with Urban Champion. Both games debuted on the NES and will sell for 500 Wii points ($5).

Nintendo has said it will release new games for the Virtual Console service every Monday at 9 a.m. Pacific time. ...

The New York Times' 'How it Works' series touches on a remote with a twist: the Nintendo Wiimote. The article describes the micron-sized machines that make it work, displays cut-away graphics of the little white marvel, and rounds out the discussion with a breakdown of where the tech came from. From the article:

via slashdot ...

via gibiz

The growing market for interactive DVD games can help videogame publishers and developers reach new, casual gaming audiences, says industry veteran Dominic Wheatley.

Wheatley, who co-founded Domark before taking it on to the stock exchange as Eidos, believes the iDVD market is comparable to the games industry twenty years ago, where an influx of companies lead to a boom or bust market.

"It seems to me like the 1984 videogames market all over again," said Wheatley.

"To start with you can sell anything, and then a huge amount of competition comes in and a lot of people bow out. But those strong enough to remain standing can actually begin to build a nice business in this category."

For Wheatley, who's company Bright Things has just released Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Action Adventure on iDVD, the attractions of the market to publishers and consumers are obvious.

"Publisher have told us they're interested in iDVD games because they are non-threatening and accessible and players can win easily."

"Through this they can get hooked on a character like Lara Croft, and maybe upgrade to a console or PC version. iDVD games could be a great ambassador to the videogame industry by getting game IP into the hands of people who don't usually buy videogames," detailed Wheatley.

With the market growing from around 30 titles last Christmas to over 200 games on shelves this season, Wheatley believes savvy publishers should see iDVD as an opportunity to expand IP into a complimentary business model.

"It doesn't compete with a pure console game, what it does is broaden the market. It's very much like the budget sector, where publishers can look at it as extra income. Let someone else do the work and take a piece of the profit ? what's not to like?"

Bright Things, which also counts Eidos exec Ian Livingstone as a chairman, believe that it's unique in bringing an action game to market, and compares its attitude of enticing new consumers to games as similar to that of Nintendo.

"What we're trying to do is pioneering and the response so far has been very positive," commented Wheatley. "It'll be very interesting to see if it catches on this year or whether the education of consumers takes longer than that - next year we'll have to double our efforts with a line of new products."

"Nintendo is making a huge amount of noise about widening the market and bringing games to a new audience. The approach of a very easy control method is to dismantle the complexity attached to videogames, and we're part of that movement but in a different direction," he added. ...

via gamesindustry

The DS continues to dominate the Japanese all-formats charts, with 14 titles in the top twenty exclusive to the Nintendo handheld.

Only two Wii titles feature in the top ten, with the high-profile Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess dropping out of the top twenty all together.

Two Pokemon titles sit at the top of the charts, with Pokemon Diamond selling over 123,000 units and Pokemon Pearl another 97,000 copies, according to Media Create.

The top seven titles in the charts are all DS games, including Kirby Squeak Squad at number three and New Super Mario Bros. at number five.

At number eight is Wild Arms 4 for the PlayStation 2, while Wii Sports and Pokemon Battle Revolution are the only two games for Nintendo's new home console, at nine and ten, respectively. ...

'Twas a starry night of old that Nintendo did announce a European release date of 9th February for Magical Starsign. So, yesterday, in common speak.

It's an interstellar role-playing game for the DS, where players will be tasked with venturing to the ends of the Universe in search of a missing teacher and fellow students from the Will-o-Wisp magical academy.

Developer Brownie Brown is keen to utilise the the unique features of the DS, relying heavily on the stylus for player-input, whilst also offering Wi-Fi support for up to six players. Wirelessly you can enjoy the Amigo Dungeon where you can earn special rewards, or enter "Tag Mode," where you can grow unique "Egg" characters that hatch over time.

It seems we're largely in familiar RPG-mechanic territory here; your male or female protagonist will follow the story across the galaxy, battle monsters, level up and buy new gear.

The game's interesting twist comes from the "Magical Starsigns" themselves. Each character is linked to a particular planet by their Sign, which will determine the type of magic they use. The strengths and weaknesses of these will be dictated by the planets' positions in the solar system; becoming weaker when your planet is far away, and stronger as your Sign moves into prominence. However, monsters too will feel these effects, and the secret to mastering the game will be an ever-changing battle plan.

Fights themselves will work around a "Rank" system, which will allow two choices for attack. Using a wheel-menu and the DS stylus, players from the front rank will choose to assault individual characters either magically or physically, whilst players in the rear can attack multiple targets, but will be limited to magical offensives.

Hopefully all of this will make for a highly entertaining and tactical experience when the game launches across Europe on 9th February.

via eurogamer ...

Uh oh. Our old friend Internet Rumours has been at it again, this time peddling the tempting fiction that Nintendo will be offering Super Mario Bros., Toe Jam & Earl and R-Types as free Virtual Console downloads on Christmas day.

Not so, says Nintendo UK, and that appears to be that.

What you can expect, of course, is some more for-money Virtual Console releases, with another selection due to go live on the Wii Shop tomorrow. Last week saw a host of additions, and if you're the sort of person who fancies a bit of retro-gaming with their mince pies, you might want to consult the list for further options.

Virtual Console's European launch titles included Super Mario 64, Donkey Kong Country and lots of old NES games, including the original Zelda. You can buy a Classic Controller to play with them, but it's also possible to use a GameCube pad, if you have one.

via eurogamer ...

If you're one of those people who have whined about the position of the cord on the Classic Controller for the Wii and just can't stand having it dangle down, you can change that in approximately 5 minutes (assuming you have the correct tools).

The controller is completely functional, including the release clip for the Wiimote that is rumored to be released sometime in the future.

Here's what you're going to need for this quick project:

- Wii Classic Controller
- Dremel with cutting disc (or some attachment that'll allow you to make a cut in a small area)
- Triwing screwdriver (to open it up)
- (OPTIONAL) A lid or some small container to hold the 5 screws (so they don't go missing)

Full details over at NintendoGal ...

It's a long way from a portable Xbox (others' best efforts notwithstanding) but it looks like Microsoft has at least one form of portable gaming in mind if this latest word from the company's European Chief Chris Lewis is any indication. Commenting on the Zune's potential game playing abilities in an interview with TotalVideoGames.com, he says that "gaming is certainly something we're considering for the device." Unfortunately, that's about all he said on the subject, although if we had to guess, we'd expect the games to be more in line with the iPod's offerings than a shrunken-down version of Gears of War. Some form of Xbox 360 connectivity would seem to be a definite possibility, however, given that it's already able to share other content with the console. It also seems likely that this won't be the full extent of Microsoft's foray into portable gaming, in light of some of the earlier indications we've heard.

Via engadget ...

New from Divineo China



Replace your original power supply with a standard ATX Computer power supply of your choice. Now you can have an inexpensive replacement, or, opt for more power, less noise, or both! The PSU Energyzer requires no assembly or wiring - just plug it in, turn on your PC power supply, and turn on your Xbox 360.

Specifications & extra information

The PSU Energyzer is a special cable with an OEM Xbox 360 power plug on one end, and a 20 pin ATX connector on the other.
Please note that the original Xbox 360 Power Supply provides 203 watts, and 12v DC current at 16.5 amps, and 5v DC at 1 Amp. For the PSU energyzer to work, your PC power supply must provide this much SUSTAINED power at a minimum. Many PC power supplies are rated for PEAK power instead of sustained power, so you must check the label of your power supply to see if it provides enough sustained power. ...