Gamernode: Latest Wii News

Nintendo sales dropping in Japan?

Yes. But so are all other console sales at the moment. According to this Gamasutra article:

Mirroring a slow week of sales in the software charts, hardware sales in Japan have continued to record a seasonal low. Nintendo DS sales fell below 100,000 for the first time this year, down by over 6,000 units to 94,339 in total.

Though the two Nintendo hardware platforms still dominate, Wii hardware sales dropped by almost 7,000 units to just 39,371 - also a recent low for the format. While there are few new titles to stimulate demand at the moment, Western analysts, including Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter, have suggested that hardware stock is currently being diverted to the West - particularly for the North American launch of Metroid Prime 3. Nintendo has failed to confirm or deny any such a...

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Wiitendo? Case mod transforms Wii into WiiNES

I suppose you could label this particular case mod under, "was it really worth it?" We've heard of the Wii360, the WiiMote, and of course, just the plain old Wii, but one gamer, who has some good technical skills, decided to make a retro case mod for his Wii -- a WiiNES if you will.

The video shown isn't a step-by-step guide on how to mod your Wii case, but it's kind of interesting to see the process of changing Nintendo's game machine into a NES "Wiitendo.

Enjoy, well maybe not...

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Wii Guitar Hero III will have online at launch

Yesterday, news broke about the Wii version for Guitar Hero III not having online play at launch. I'm sure frowns were made worldwide but here's some news to turn those frowns upside down.

A follow-up interview on Joystiq with Kai Huang, co-founder and president of RedOctane, revealed that there will, in fact, be online play for Guitar Hero III on the Wii at launch.

What Huang meant to say was that there won't be downloadable content for the Wii. While the lack of downloadable content is a bummer, I'm sure I can say that Wii fans would rather enjoy online play than downloadable content.

But the question here is how will online play be implemented? RedOctane is currently writing up a press release that'll explain about how it'll be implemented, so we'll see.

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Mario Kart Wii may NOT have 16 karts per race

As you have probably read by now, the UK's Official Nintendo Magazine has reported that the upcoming Mario Kart Wii will feature 16-player online competition - which is mind-blowingly awesome.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but according to an official statement released by the magazine, that information was "healthy speculation." The statement reads:

"The details printed in Official Nintendo Magazine 21 regarding Mario Kart Wii were healthy speculation on our part and are in no way an official announcement from Nintendo.

We are sorry if we have mislead anyone. We do not set out to mislead our readers. ONM apologises profusely for any misunderstandings that this has caused."

Even if the report was just speculation, don't fret. From evidence in the Mario Kart Wii video that was shown at...

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Vanillaware action RPG headed for the Wii

The creators of the highly stylized and pretty damn good PS2 games Odin Sphere and GrimGrimoire are at it again. This time, Vanillaware is hard at work on another action RPG, this time for Nintendo's Wii console, and it looks to be just as pretty as we've come to expect from the developer.

Oboro Muramasa Youtouden, according to Weekly Famitsu magazine, will take place in feudal Japan, where warriors Momohime and Kisuke will be charged with the task of kicking the crap out of samurais, ghosts, monsters, and even gods in locales ranging from open fields to feudal cities to religious temples...and more.

Players will be able to choose from the two aforementioned ninja, so we'd all better start figuring out whether we prefer girl-in-kimono-with-cool-weapon, or boy-with-amnesia...with-cool-weapon....

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Nintendo Wii -- now with fire fighting action

In yet another triumph for hackers everywhere, Chad, over at Windmeadow Labs, posted his run-down on a fire fighting robot he constructed using a Wiimote. It works by rotating in place until the sensor on the Wiimote detects a heat source, then continues to use the sensor to travel towards the heat and put it out with its fan.

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Mario Kart Wii to feature 16-person online multipl...

This is going to be awesome. Fans of Mario Kart and people who still possess the capacity to enjoy things just received tentative confirmation that their futures are going to be so bright that they'll need sunglasses. The source? It isn't new-fangled space drugs or mind-porn this time around, but Mario Kart on the Wii, online, with a maximum of 16 players.

Battle Mode will be available online as well, although whether or not we'll be able to take part in massive 16-player brawls in Battle Mode remains to be confirmed.

The news was featured in a scan of the original Official Nintendo Magazine on the site Go Nintendo. What else did the article mention? Well, there will also be in-air stunts and updated versions of Mario Kart DS tracks.

It's good to see Nintendo really beginning to implement i...

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Nintendo trademarking again

Once again, Nintendo has gone on a spree with the Japanese trademark board, scooping up the rights to a few new, yet familiar names, as well as one enigmatic phrase.

The list of the more self-explanatory trademarks includes 'Mii Contest Channel,' 'Nintendo Magic,' 'Mii Audition,' and 'Wii Handle' - combinations of words for which many would think a trademark is unnecessary. These are clearly reserved for new Wii features and so forth. In addition, the Pikmin trademark has been renewed, possibly pointing to a future Wii installment in the lovable series.

More interesting, though, is the "Soma Bringer" trademark that Nintendo has registered along with the others. Could this be a piece of software designed to get our nerves firing? Maybe something that will detach our bodies from our mind...

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No online for Guitar Hero III on Wii at launch

In an interview with Pro-G, Kai Huang, co-founder and president of RedOctane, revealed that there won't be outline capabilities for the Wii version of Guitar Hero III at the game's launch. Among other subjects discussed include ideas for special Wii features and future Guitar Hero games.

Regarding the online situation. Huang said, "There is online for the PS3 and Xbox 360. There won't be online initially for the Wii, but we are working with Nintendo to see we can get those features in."

But don't let the news get you down since RedOctane is preparing special Wii-specific features in Guitar Hero III. "The Wii version will be a different experience. We haven't made any specific announcements on what the differences are, but absolutely we want to take advantage of the Wii-mote and utilise all ...

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Metroid Prime 3 Outsells Bioshock

CVG reports that not only is Nintendo's Metroid Prime 3 for the Wii a big hit, it has actually surpassed Take Two's sci-fi thriller, Bioshock, in first week sales.

MP3 is at the top of the heap for sales in the all-format games category with over 400,000 units sold. The immense number of copies sold for the Wii is seen as an indication that "hardcore" games do sell well on the family oriented Wii.

But even more importantly, the success of Metroid Prime 3 validates the Wii as a viable entry against the Xbox 360 and PS3. Although sales figures of the Wii have consistently shown that it outsells the other two machines, doubts have been raised about the Wii just being a "fad" game console which would lose steam over the long haul.

But with Super Mario Galaxy coming right around the corner, Ninten...

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September 3rd Virtual Console releases

This week in the land of the old school videogame systems, aka the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console, there are FOUR new games available for everyone's downloading pleasure.

Leading this generous Labor Day pack of titles are the classic romp in the tropics, Adventure Island, and the third installment in the series that is the Turbografx16's biggest claim to fame, Bonk 3.

Read on for the details:

Adventure Island (NES, 1 player, rated E for Everyone - Comic Mischief, 500 Wii Points): A mysterious tropical paradise known as Adventure Island is the setting for this side-scrolling action game. The evil Witch Doctor has kidnapped Tina, the true love of Master Higgins. To save her, you must safely guide Master Higgins through eight perilous stages - including dense forests and creepy caves - while ...

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Super Mario Galaxy storyline and planet details

The Super Mario franchise has never been known for its Shakespearean stories. They have been simple, predictable, and unobtrusive to the gameplay experience. Who really needs a thought-out plot when the gameplay is so addicting? No one should be surprised to hear Super Mario Galaxy isn't going to deviate from this train of thought. Aussie-Nintendo has come across some of the narrative tidbits via Nintendo Power. Those hoping for a magnificent masterpiece storyline better get their head examined.

"Every hundred years a comet passes over the Mushroom Kingdom and rains down magical stars and stardust, and as Princess Peach and the citizens of the kingdom are celebrating the centennial event, Bowser and his legions attack. As Mario attempts to put a stop to Bowser's shenanigans, but things go a...

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Neo Geo games on Virtual Console!

That's right baby, the Japanese Virtual Console site is listing the first three Neo Geo games that'll appear on the service this month, Fatal Fury, World Heroes, and Magician Lord. All three will debut at 900 points and it's going to be awesome.

The Neo Geo was the original poor-selling third wheel console, but the system was vastly overpowered compared to either the Genesis or the SNES of the same era. Fortunately, it had quite a few games that were undeniably great.

The Neo Geo is home to some of the greatest fighting games, World Heroes among them, and, my personal favorites, the original Metal Slug games. Simply put, it's a mistake to overlook the Neo Geo era. Let's just hope these games make their way to the US Virtual Console as well.

[via Kotaku]

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Sega prez says Nintendo is the most creative

Nintendo has scored big by landing a very big fanboy--namely, the North American president of Sega, Simon Jeffrey.

And why wouldn't he be a fanboy now? Jeffrey was giddy with happiness because Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games took the award for best Wii title at the Leipzig Game Conference. Oh, did we mention that it was a Sega game?

Jeffery told MCV that he thought the best creative titles will be coming from Nintendo. "There is no doubt that we will see more risks and therefore more creativity on both the Wii and the DS in the next couple of years. Just look at what EA is already doing on the Wii - EA doesn't usually do that kind of game."

In general, he was wishing for good things to happen for the game industry as a whole. "We hope that we will see little creative sparks of genius po...

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Worms infesting Wii in 2008

Don't let the title fool you, it's the good kind of Worms. THQ announced Worms: A Space Oddity today, the next installment in Team17's long running turn-based action series. A Space Oddity, as stated, will be released for the Wii sometime in spring 2008.

The game will support up to four players online and will be built around 2D gameplay. Past Worms games have been build around 3D gameplay, such as Worms 3D in 2003 and Worms 4: Mayhem in 2005, but most Worms enthusiasts prefer the 2D gameplay. In addition, the game will feature six distinct environments across both a single-player campaign and multiplayer mini-games.

The newest Worms game in the franchise will be Worms: Open Warfare 2 for the PSP and DS, which will be released tomorrow. Back in March, Xbox Live Arcade got a share of Worms ac...

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Retro Studios "taking a break" from Metroid Prime

With Metroid Prime 3: Corruption gobbling up rave reviews, series developer Retro Studios said they're taking a break from the series, according to a Yahoo! Games interview. Considering that the studio jump started the Metroid Prime series back in 2002, having the studio take a break sounds well-deserved, albeit a little heart-breaking for fans.

Even though the company might be easing off of Metroid Prime, the company is eager to work on other projects. But in the end, it's up to the Big N, since they own Retro Studios.

Corruption director Mark Pacini said, "We are taking a break from the Metroid series and from Samus. So I'm sure there will be other titles created, but as far as Retro Studios is concerned, we're taking a break for a little bit."

Before Retro Studios came on-board to develop...

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Manhunt 2 still hunted and in danger

So the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood crybaby watchdog group of the month is concerned that Manhunt 2 has been re-rated and, gasp, might be making it into the hands of young, impressionable gamers everywhere. They want to tell you how to play with your Wii! According to the CCFC website:

Manhunt 2 Rating Downgraded to M - ESRB Decision Dramatically Increases the Chances that Violent, Interactive Game Will Bill (sic) Marketed and Sold to Children

Alright, CCFC, except that it was downgraded to M. Not E, which is, as we all know, for Everyone, or T for Teens, but M, for old people. That is, people who've survived for the requisite 17 years, indicating that they aren't dumb enough to repeat anything they see and thus, can safely view disturbing content and be left alone with sharp obj...

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August 27th Virtual Console Releases

Yesterday marked yet another week of solid Virtual Console updates in the month of August.

This time around, Wii owners were treated to a triple-threat of awesome games from third-party developers. Nintendo dubbed it sequel week, as each of the available titles is the second or third installments in its respective series.

From the press release:

Super C - (NES, 1-2 players, rated E for Everyone - Fantasy Violence, 500 Wii Points): In this action-packed sequel to the popular Contra, players have little time to think. Experience run-and-gun game play at its best as you take control of Mad Dog or Scorpion and once again battle the forces of Red Falcon. Stages feature a combination of perspectives (side scrolling, top down, etc.) and intense battles against huge bosses. Use a variety of powerf...

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NBA Live 08 Wii controls are very underwhelming

EA has just released a video showing various NBA Live 08 controls for the Family Play mode using the remote. Are you as unimpressed as I am?

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Petey Piranha a Boss Battle in SSBB

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is modifying aspects of the series. The biggest of these changes was the addition of a single player component, complete with a narrative plot.

What we did not know is what exactly the single player experience would entail. Not all the details have been revealed, but one of the biggest mysteries has been uncovered; boss battles will be included.

The first of these boss encounters is Petey Piranha, one of the foes Mario had to face in Super Mario Sunshine, reports Smash Bros. Dojo.

Beyond the typical beat-the-snot-out-of-the-baddie, players are also going to be asked to make a difficult choice. Petey has captured both Princess Toadstool and Princess Zelda, and only one can be saved at the conclusion of the clash. Which one will be saved is up to the gamer, and the fat...

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