Month: March 2009
Conduit developer calls Wii softcore stigma “complete nonsense”
High Voltage wants you to know that sleep is for babies and the Wii will soon rival the edginess found on Xbox 360 and PS3. France’s version of the Associated Press has the story: “A lot of it is just getting over the stigma that Wii is for grandparents and our little brother; that is complete nonsense,” says High Voltage. “We were super excited about making a game for Nint...
Infendo@GDC – Excitebots Hands-On!
ExciteTruck was one heck of a launch title for the Wii – it’s a fun, fast paced driving stunt game that was missed by far too many Wii owners. It had great motion controls, more than decent graphics, and it was just fun to play. For those who missed out it or for those who just want more, ExciteBots is just what the doctor ordered – it’s everything that made ExciteTruck...
Infendo@GDC – Wario Ware: Snapped and DSiWare Hands On!
Ever since the DSi was announced Nintendo Fans have been asking themselves if they really wanted to upgrade. The question hangs heavy, because while there are new features such as SD card support, a larger screen, and the heavily touted camera, it seems to pretty much be the same old DS – not appearing to be much smaller, more powerful, or significantly superior in any standalone way. Th...
Infendo@GDC – Hands On With Punch Out!!
Branded with heavyweight champion Mike Tyson’s name, Punch-Out!! on the NES locked itself into the classic console’s top twenty – and still remains a prime example of simple yet solid gameplay. It’s no surprise that Punch-Out!! has been one of the most heavily anticipated Wii titles of 2009, the very moment we tried Wii-Sports boxing, we knew it had to happen. At GDC 20...
Another take on OnLive
In their latest email newsletter, GameIndustry.biz takes a far less alarmist approach to dissecting OnLive than I did. There is simply no readily available comparison for what OnLive is suggesting here. Streaming high-definition video services, even hugely popular ones like YouTube or the BBC’s iPlayer, are several orders of magnitude less demanding – because all they’re really d...
Google reveals Nintendo, video game themes for iGoogle pages
Google handed us a little update today for the iGoogle homepages some of you might be rocking right now. With the update, users can skin their pages with all manner of video game themes, including Mega Man, Mario, Wii Sports, Link, and several other video game personalities of noteworthy imprtance. Infendo’s David is rocking Animal Crossing right now, and I’m leaning heavily toward Meg...
Confirmed! Professor Layton Series is coming!
At Level-5’s panel, director Akihiro Hino showed a list of current projects, including Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, an English translation of the name of the second Layton game. Later, during the Q&A, someone asked Hino if the sequel was being localized for North America and Europe. Hino responded that he wants to release all six Laytons (including the new trilogy), and that ...
Overheard at GDC: “Boom Blox 2 is epic”
I was talking to a friend/editor today who is attending the Game Developers Conference. I promptly asked what he’s liked the best. His response? “Boom Blox 2 is epic.” The word “epic” caught me off guard, so I asked him to clarify. “It’s awesome,” he added. “The graphics are 10 times better, there are way more modes, and it’s super-easy t...
Dr. Mario weighs in on universal health care
The other day, Nurse Toadstool and I talked in the break room over reheated mushroom casserole. She appeared sad. She mentioned turning a Goomba away because his health insurance wouldn’t give him enough gold coins for treatment. Then I realized why the same viruses continue to appear again and again. Each time we turn a patient away for financial reasons, not only are we denying care to the...
Iwata to Third Party Developers: Think like Miyamoto
At this year’s GDC keynote, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata addressed the common complaint that third party companies just can’t compete with Nintendo. Iwata explains that he used to feel the same way before he came to work at Nintendo, and saw Miyamoto’s creative process at work. I sinceirly hope understanding his (Miyamoto’s) methods might be some help to you. Maybe ev...
GDC – Wii Menu 4.0 + Storage Solution LIVE
Nintendo Wii owners have long awaited the official announcement of Nintendo’s “Storage Solution,” for the Wii. Previously limited to playing games stored on the console’s internal memory, Wii owners were often forced to “clean out the ‘fridge” to download new WiiWare and Virtual Console games. The process of transferring games back and forth from syste...
GDC – Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Screens!
It’s a prevelant and consistant rumor that surrounds every Nintendo event – it’s always well within the realm of speculation and it’s always the same question – will Nintendo announce a new Zelda game? It’s one of the company’s biggest properties, and while Nintendo delivered this time, it might not be what you expected. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Track...