Gamernode: Latest Nintendo DS News

Mario + Sonic + Kameo = Dragon Hunters?!

We all could've guessed that it wouldn't be long before somebody else attempted to capitalize on the incredibly well-received gravity mechanic introduced by Super Mario Galaxy, but would you guess that it'd be a Nintendo DS game? How about that it would also grab elements from both Sonic the Hedgehog and Kameo: Elements of Power? Nah, didn't think so. Well that game, entitled Dragon Hunters, does indeed exist, and is expected to be released sometime in the early part of this year. Look, I even have a video clip to prove it:

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Hitachi and Sharp scam Nintendo

Both Hitachi and Sharp are in charge of making the screens used in the Nintendo DS. It seems, though, that they may have been partaking in some shifty practices during their engagement with Nintendo.

The Japanese Free Trade Commission is accusing the companies of price fixing the LCD screens in order to gain a larger profit. In other words, the two companies got together behind Nintendo's back and decided to sell these products at a certain price so that neither of them had to worry about competing with the other company. They could simply enjoy sharing the profits. And believe me, when you're involved with the DS in any way, there are plenty of profits.

The Fair Trade Commission raided their offices on February 28 following a news report. Both companies could face fines up to 10% of the tot...

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Soma Bringer looks great in new video

Soma Bringer, the Monolith and Nintendo collaboration coming to the DS later this year (Feb 28th in Japan), is shaping up to be quite a little gem of an RPG. Back in November, Japan's Famitsu magazine clued us in on what to expect from the game, stating:

"Players select from one of seven characters, fighting against enemies called "The Visitors." You can assign different attacks onto the four buttons to use strategically during battle. As you gain experience points, you can distribute them to your stats and combining abilities will also create new ones. Plus, up to three players can join the game for some co-op play through the DS Wi-Fi feature."

That was enough to get our excitement level up, and this new video of the game definitely tacks on some bonus love for the title. Check it out: ...

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Peggle NOT coming to DS...yet

I was on Steam one day, ready to flame-broil some noobs with my Pyro in Team Fortress 2 when I saw on my list of games something called Peggle. I've heard of it before but I never tried it out until that day.

So I started the game up and I assumed this shorter version of the actual game came with my Orange Box, which I later found out was true.

It doesn't seem so special. Aim your ball, hit other pegs, and try to get rid of all of them before you run out of balls. Next thing I know I invested 3 hours into this game, trying to beat every level and getting the high scores.

This game is addictively fun, and hearing that it would come to the DS, my eyes twinkled like a happy boy straight out of an anime. Peggle would've fit perfectly with the DS, seeing how the graphics are nothing to rave abou...

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Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates Gameplay Video

Square-Enix recently released some new gameplay footage of its upcoming Nintendo DS game, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - Ring of Fates. The footage only lasts a short-lived 38 seconds, but it gives us an example of the graphics, cut scenes, gameplay and music that can be anticipated.

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - Ring of Fates is scheduled to be released for the Nintendo DS on March 11th, 2008 in North America... Which is a shame because after watching this short clip, I can just imagine how much enjoyment I am going to get out of playing this game with a bunch of friends via the Nintendo Wi-Fi capabilities. But I suppose I can let it slide and give Square-Enix another month to polish the title even further and give it that extra-special magic touch. Okay that is enough of me ram...

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First screens of Sid Meier's Civilization Revoluti...

Yesterday, 2KGames uploaded the first batch of DS screenshots for Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution. Coming out for the PS3, Xbox 360 and DS, it will be the first "next-gen" offering of the classic strategy franchise. (In case you missed the news, the Wii version was delayed indefinitely several weeks ago.)

Built from the ground up with console and handheld gamers in mind, the game will offer the traditional Civilization feeling, but in a fast-paced, pick-up-and-play fashion. According to several sources, it will be the full Civilization experience. So we'll have to see just what exactly Firaxis means by making it fast-paced and pick-up-and-play.

As of now, there's no set release date for the game, but look for it to likely hit stores sometime by April 2008.

The five screenshots released ...

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Dr. Kawashima declines $22 million in Brain Age ro...

If you've ever played Brain Age, you've been well acquainted with Dr. Ryuta Kawashima's blocky, stoic face. What you may not know, however, is how much money the man has turned down as a result of the game's success.

With 17 million copies of Brain Age sold worldwide since its release, Dr. Kawashima is due to earn $22 million (2.4 billion yen) in royalties. Surprisingly, he's refused to accept a single penny for himself.

"Not a single yen has gone in my pocket," said the soft-spoken 48-year-old doctor with round-rim glasses. "Everyone in my family is mad at me but I tell them that if they want money, go out and earn it."

According to the rules of Tohoku University, which employs Kawashima, he could accept half of the royalties as long as the remaining half is given to the school. The man is w...

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MYST unveiling on the Nintendo DS

If you are a MYST fan you've probably spent many hours in your quest to solve puzzles or unlock mysteries from within the game. The backdrop of the franchise has always been wonderful and the deceptively simple point and click interface was more than adequate to navigate in the MYST universe.

Here's good news for fans and newcomers as Empire Interactive has announced that the classic adventure game will be released in a special edition for the Nintendo DS. There will be an original soundtrack produced especially for the game, remastered video and a new age called the Rime Age-- never before seen in the original release of MYST.

Karim Farghaly, vice president of sales at Empire Interactive said, "As one of the strongest video game franchises in history, with more than 12 million game sold t...

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Myst DS heading to North America in March

A version of Myst for the Nintendo DS (funnily enough labeled Myst DS) which was released in Europe last year will finally see the light of day in North America sometime in March.

Myst is easily one of the best classic point-and-click adventure games, being the highest selling PC game before the arrival of The Sims. The DS edition of the game will feature the games classic point-and-click gameplay, an original soundtrack, remastered video, the Rime Age area from realMyst and a journal for players to scribble notes in. The top screen of the DS will display the game, with the bottom screen being used for tools, such as a map and camera.

Being a huge fan of the Myst series, it's good to see the game finally getting a DS release in North America. Hopefully a new generation of gamers will come to...

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Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword gameplay

Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword is a little over two months away now, but Team Ninja just released a slew of gameplay videos for the DS action title. This particular clip sees Ryu challenging a dragon in an open field just outside of town. Although the graphics aren't exactly the most impressive to come our way, everything seems to be running smoothly. Ryu's use of ninpo, ground- and aerial-based attacks here demonstrate game's combat system nicely.

GamerNode's own Demetri Kouvalis has a great forum post about this upcoming release, so be sure to check it out for more videos, screenshots, and info.

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New Naruto: Ninja Destiny DS trailer

Naruto's popular, and anything Naruto-related around here usually does pretty well. We also need to pay more attention to handheld stuff. For those reasons, I've uploaded the new Naruto: Ninja Destiny DS trailer for your viewing pleasure. (It only took me three tries!) The first 3D Naruto fighting game on the DS, it looks pretty fast-moving for a game "...casual and hardcore players alike will enjoy." Then again, maybe that's due to the Michael Bay-inspired cuts.

The game features 16 fighters from the Naruto series, and is due to hit retailers next month.

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Details revealed about BioWare's Sonic RPG for DS

It's been numerous months since we've heard anything about the upcoming Nintendo DS RPG based on Sonic the Hedgehog from BioWare. Over on CVG, the latest issue of Nintendo Power holds more juicy details for the game.

The game is officially titled Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. According to the magazine, "the game takes place two years after Sonic last defeated Doctor Eggman. Sonic receives word that Knuckles has been kidnapped by a group known as the Marauders, and that six chaos emeralds are missing."

Players can choose four party members from a total of eleven and each member has unique abilities. Confirmed party members include Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Rouge, Shadow and Big the Cat. Also since the game is a RPG, you have full customization over your party members' attributes ...

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Wireless DS game downloads NOT coming

Whoops, looks like the New York Times had a few errors in regards to the planned wireless game downloads for the Nintendo DS via the Wii story.

The main error and the subsequent revision through a statement from Nintendo mentions that no, full downloadable DS games for the handheld through the Wii won't be coming, only game demos instead.

From Nintendo, "An article about the Nintendo DS video game system in the Dec. 31 Business Day section of the New York Times incorrectly referred to future capabilities of the device. The statement that complete Nintendo DS games will eventually be able to be downloaded into the device via a wireless connection with the company's Wii game console is incorrect.

Users can download games to play on Wii, and, in the future, the Nintendo DS will be able to rece...

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Wireless DS game downloads coming

Hopefully, we'll be seeing wireless game downloads for the DS via the Wii in the not too distant future, according to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime. Speaking to the New York Times, Reggie said that the future of the DS would be more tightly connected with its big brother, the Wii.  

Downloading DS games would first be done by the Wii and then transferred wirelessly to the DS, which has onboard wireless capability.

Fils-Aime isn't sitting on his laurels and wants to continue to expand the DS Empire. He said, "To aggressively drive DS business we need to provide other forms of entertainment to excite the consumer."

Well known business analyst, Michael Pachter, of Wedbush Morgan isn't so positive of the DS's success and still thinks it's just a kid's toy. "The DS is still a kid'...

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U.S. Nintendo DS sales hit 6 million

Nintendo proudly announced they've sold over 6 million Nintendo DS portable game systems in the United States.

George Harrison, senior vice president of marketing for Nintendo of America, said, "There's no letup in sight. Nintendo DS appeals strongly to both core and casual gamers, and its momentum is set to propel us into 2008."

In addition, Nintendo mentioned the DS snatched the all-time U.S. Thanksgiving week sales record with 650,000 units sold. The record was previously held by the Game Boy Advance back in 2005 with 600,000 systems sold.

Lastly, the Big N revealed that in combined sales, New Super Mario Bros., Mario Kart DS, Pokémon Diamond and Super Mario 64 DS sold over 2 million copies in the U.S.

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DS redesign seems to be already finished

Nintendo's DS Lite has been a huge success since it's release in 06'. Even original DS owners went out and bought the new model. So why make another version? Too late, Nintendo's already done with it, according to Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson.

Wilson said, "Our contacts indicate that a refreshed DS is complete. It's thinner (it has no GBA port), has on-board storage, and larger screens. However we do not expect a revamped Wii or DS until sales begin to tail off in al three major geographies."

This makes sense, with the holiday madness, retail stores won't have enough room for new products.

Think about the limited space retail stores have. In example--look how much room the huge Rock Band packages are already taking up during this pre-order stage.

A couple of local GameStops...

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Sears ad reveals two new DS Lites

Sears recently put out their annual Black Friday ads to whet the greedy pallets of eager shoppers. In the ad, Sears revealed and confirmed two new DS bundles going for $149.99 each.

The first package is the Phantom Hourglass DS bundle, which was announced well before the ad. It comes with a Tri-Force engraved golden DS Lite, and of course the game Phantom Hourglass.

The second package is the Nintendogs: Best Friends Edition, a pink DS engraved with a paw print that comes with none other than that two year old Nintendogs game. Sounds odd, but think about how many little girls (and some guys in secret) will buy it just for a pink DS with a "cute" little paw print on it.

It's good marketing if you ask me.

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Rumors of downloadable games for the DS

A Virtual Console service for the Nintendo DS? Rumors from the UK magazine Edge says this is in Nintendo's plans. In the same article, they talk about the Animal Crossing MMO, a fact... maybe VC for the DS is a fact too?

Edge magazine says Nintendo is getting ready to release a Nintendo DS storage card for downloading and playing those old school Game Boy games. They didn't talk about how the service will be provided, but I'm guessing it will be over Wi-Fi.

The device sounds like it's a piracy dreamland, but Nintendo is pretty good at encoding and preventing Virtual Console games from being cracked. This could be a pretty sweet deal, but once again, these are only rumors so stay posted and we'll see if this is fact or fiction.

[via wired]

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Dementium goes gold, trailer looks awesome

By now, it may be quite obvious that I'm into horror games, but after viewing this trailer, I feel justified in saying that Dementium: The Ward is looking excellent. With development complete, the game is set to ship out for release on the spookiest of days - October 31st.

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Contra 4 dated, box art revealed

Let's get one thing straight, right now. Contra...is awesome. Few things are more satisfying than teaming up with a friend to shoot the sh*t out of everything you see, and Contra delivers that in spades.

On the NeoGAF forums yesterday, a couple of scans of the game's press sheet were leaked, revealing both the box art (which happens to be exceptionally badass, and worthy of the Contra name) and the release date for the DS title. Come November 13th, DS owners will all be treated to, "Guns. Aliens. Spread Shot, Carnage."

Yes, there will be co-op, and yes, I'm excited already.

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