SEGA today confirmed rumors reported Wednesday on Infendo by announcing a worldwide partnership with developer Platinum Games for the exclusive Wii title MadWorld.

From the press release:

“MADWORLD, the first title set for release in Q1 2009, is an inventive third-person action game exclusively for Wii™. Produced by Atsushi Inaba, MADWORLD has a unique black and white style, depicting an incredibly sharp backdrop that straddles graphic novels and 3D worlds. As players battle opponents, they must master the use of various weapons and items found within their environment, such as chainsaws and street signs, while entertaining sports commentary adds to the third-person gameplay. With its irreverent humour and over-the-top violence, MADWORLD will deliver a unique core gaming experience currently missing on the Wii system.”

SEGA has been removing the leaked MadWorld trailer from video-sharing Web sites Internet-wide all week. As of publishing, the electrifying video is available at this location; cross your fingers, and head to Wiitalia for some gorgeous MadWorld screenshots.

For more information on MadWorld and Platinum Games’ other upcoming SEGA projects, check SEGA Europe’s official Web site.

Kotaku broke a major rumor Monday claiming Platinum Games, the studio founded by renowned developers Shinji Mikami and Hideki Kamiya, is working on a mature project entitled Mad World exclusively for Wii.

A supposed gameplay trailer has also surfaced this week showcasing the game’s seemingly gorgeous visual presentation. The footage suggests Mad World will utilize a crisp black-and-white graphical style with striking blood-red contrasts to create a very mature, pseudo-Sin City visual aesthetic.

According to Kotaku’s rumor, Platinum Games has struck a deal with SEGA to publish Mad World and two other titles, including a science-fiction RPG for the Nintendo DS entitled Infinite Line. Mad World has not been confirmed by either company at this time.

Platinum Games was created in 2006 from the ashes of Clover Studios, the respected development studio responsible for games such as Viewtiful Joe, PS2’s God Hand and the original Okami.

Video Games Live is supposedly a concert of epic proportions bringing together video game music and symphony orchestras. This concert was started by Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall, who are both composers in the world of game design. Since this show was stopping in New York City at the Beacon Theater, I just had to go out and see this, seeing as everyone is talking about it. This seemed to be the perfect Saturday evening activity, seeing as how much I enjoy listening to classic video game soundtracks. However, all was not well, as I was soon set up for disappointment. If you’re ready for my review and rant, hit the jump. (more…)

Craving every little bit of info you can get about Sega’s upcoming Sony the Hedgehog 2.5D platformer? So am I, actually. The idea of a really robust platformer for the little blue one has me waxing all nostalgic like about the 90’s. As a Nintendo owner back then, I only go to experience Sonic at friends’ houses. Sonic on the DS was cool in all, but for some reason this title feels like the watershed moment for Team Sonic.

“In our minds, this game will have more in common with the older Sonic Adventure series. It has no relation to Sonic the Hedgehog [the 360/PS3 game] or Sonic And The Secret Rings… We wanted Sonic fans to love Sonic even more. Also, for people who are not familiar with Sonic, we think that this will be a great way to introduce them to Sonic The Hedgehog.” – lead designer Yoshihisa Hashimoto

Fair enough. The video feeds have been impressive so far. I’ll be sure set the bar nice and low regardless.

[Official Nintendo Magazine (UK), via Kotaku]

This week marks the debut of Sega Master System games on the Virtual Console. What better way to kick it off than with Wonder Boy!

Wonder Boy - Master System - 1987 - 500 Wii Points
Just when things were going great with Tom-Tom and his girlfriend Tanya, some thug of a woodland king had to kidnap her and hide her away, and Tom-Tom doesn’t have a clue where. [Developed by Westone]

Cruis’n USA - N64 - 1996 - 1000 Wii Points
Slam the pedal to the metal and hang on for a wild race across the highways of America. [Developed by Midway]

Having a new console available virtually makes Wonder Boy our easy pick of the week! What’s yours?

SEGA has posted a few screenshots of Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (DS) today (via Videogamer), so I thought I’d share them with you.

Question for the day is: Has Sonic re-found his footing with a DS RPG title?

And yes, I’m well aware of my previous comments regarding looks. Truth is, I’m very shallow.

[Thanks, Will!]

IGN’s Ryan Clements posted a thorough hands-on preview today of Sega’s upcoming mascot tennis game, Sega Superstars Tennis.

In news sure to further frustrate the often overlooked Wii audience, Clements revealed that the Wii build of Superstars Tennis “doesn’t have any online play to speak of.”

The Wii version offers three control schemes selectable before the start of a match. Clements said the traditional controls are used by holding the Wii remote horizontally like an NES controller. He played extensively with the nunchuk controls to “give the motion controls a spin” and found they are not “particularly responsive” yet.

Online functionality and control schemes aside, Clements said the game is virtually the same on the PS3, 360 and Wii. Superstars Tennis offers mascot-themed courts and power shots in the vein of Nintendo’s Mario Tennis series. Players begin with eight available Sega characters with eight more unlockable “surprises.”

Sega Superstars Tennis is scheduled to release and perpetuate third-party development trends on Mar. 18 in North America.

SEGA of America, Inc. today announced that NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams for the Wii video game console will ship December 18, 2007 in North America. The title, a sequel to the critically-acclaimed hit NiGHTS, will allow players to take flight, unleash incredible airborne maneuvers, and explore seven magnificent worlds of imagination, dreams and nightmares. SEGA also unveiled plans to reawaken the Artificial Life (A-Life) feature in NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, which gives gamers the freedom to oversee and develop their own sandbox environment enabling them to capture, raise, and even combine the inhabitants from the world of Nightopia, and has confirmed that the game will feature a two-player mode and network support at launch.

(more…)

Bait Your Hooks and Catch Some Bass In SEGA’s Upcoming Fishing Game

SEGA of America, Inc. and SEGA Europe, Ltd today announced SEGA Bass Fishing for the Wii, the latest addition to one of the most successful fishing game franchises of all time. With content developed exclusively for the Wii, SEGA Bass Fishing will be released in early 2008.

(more…)

Even today, after so many years have passed since Nintendo and SEGA battled for the living room, it still strikes me as a little odd to hear SEGA execs heaping praise on their once bitter rival. It’s almost as weird as when I think about Mario and Sonic competing in the Olympic Games later this winter. *shudder*

Today, SEGA’s North American president — who is not actually Dr. Robotnik, I was surprised to learn — Simon Jeffrey told MCV that “Wii’s low development costs will mean that third-party output on the system will be noticeably more original than that on Xbox 360 and PS3 for the next two years.” (more…)

From time to time, we’ll take a few well-written, intelligent and objective reviews from the Infendo Forums and throw them up on the main page for the whole world to enjoy. Here’s a review of a Wii launch title, Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz, by Abras.

The little, strange looking monkeys in bubbles are back for some more fun. The first game in the series made quite a splash during the Game Cube’s release. It was so popular in fact, that it spawned a plethora of sequels and spin offs (see picture after the jump for my opinion on that). It’s back in as a launch title for Nintendo, but this time with big launches from Nintendo like Zelda and Wii Sports, it hasn’t quite made the same impression as the first one. It sticks to basically the same formula, but makes some changes like the addition of a ton of mini games, the ability to jump, and the use of the Wiimote, as well as some graphical tweaks in the form of cell shading. (more…)

Note to self: Don’t cross the Wii or its loyal fan base. Ever. I say this because today we learn that misguided Sega executive Scott Steinberg is probably in the doghouse this morning thanks to his comments from last week.As a refresher know this: Steinberg, using graphics and horsepower as his rationale, said the Wii would be dated in a few years. It seems he may have been drunk; with spirits or power, we may never know. What we do know is Sega has since fired off a press release to basically protect its ass. It was written, conveniently, by Steinberg himself..

“It’s a shared responsibility and opportunity for the whole industry to take advantage of the possibilities of the Wii. If we don’t realize its true potential, we will have missed a great opportunity to expand creatively and that is what I was cautioning against in the Reuters interview […] I’m not just putting the responsibility of innovation on Nintendo. It’s on SEGA and all the publishers and developers as well to carry that flag.”

I haven’t seen that much backpedaling since I got a bit tipsy at my college graduation party and tried to ride my old bike “back in time.” I didn’t get very far and neither, it seems, did Scott Steinberg.

If the news about sales numbers seem to be getting a little stale, then so too are the stream of executives and analysts who continue to hark on the Wii for having inferior graphics and hardware.

Sega’s Scott Steinberg, vice president of marketing for SEGA US, is the latest guy to “just not get it”:

Steinberg, vice president of marketing for SEGA US, has said he is “concerned” about the future of the Wii - suggesting that PS3 is more likely to be the market leader in this console cycle. “I am a little concerned about the creative depth of the Wii pool,” he told Reuters. “I’m not sure if they will top out in 2008 or 2007.”

For now, we’ll conveniently forget that some of Sega’s own IP has already topped out (ahem *Sonic* cough cough). Instead, I once again have to reiterate the most obvious point about the Wii: it’s not a hardware powerhouse; it was never marketed as such; and to say silly little things like this is both indicative of an industry that has still not come to grips with the disruptive strategy behind the Wii and another exec who has been so confused by the Wii’s current success that he has digressed into making a apples to oranges comparisons. And since when is “creative depth” tied to graphics and horsepower?! WTF?!

Newsflash: The Wii already looks dated! This would certainly be an issue if Iwata got up on that stage two years ago and said “Nintendo is entering the next generation full steam ahead. We will deliver a superior graphics chipset and a true HD gaming experience.” But…. he didn’. Not even close.
The Wii’s success or failure will be based on the merits of its software; on game play and fresh ideas. Attempting to group it in with these hardware behemoths like the PS3 and Xbox is like comparing an airplane to a blender. Sega, apparently, is still trying to figure that out.

Like my Friday night Chinese food, NiGHTS will allegedly arrive on the Wii in two styles.

Takashi Iizuka, lead game designer on the original and heading up the newly announced Wii game:

We’re currently designing the game to be played with two control configurations. Our main focus is to design the game to be played with the Wii remote but for those gamers that are more comfortable using a more “traditional-style” controller configuration, they will able to plug the nunchuk into the Wii remote as well.

Does that translate into “bolted on motion controls?” I’m not sure, but it’s not promising. As the PS3/PSP has proven, you need to do one thing well first before you start thinking about doing EVERYTHING well at the same time. My personal opinion is they should focus on one or the other so they can really make it pop, as opposed to trying to appease gamers of all types.

[NGamer, via 1up.com]

Sega issued a press release today detailing the… details of the sequel to Sonic Rush on the Nintendo DS - Sonic Rush Adventure. Excerpt!

“Sonic Rush Adventure will seamlessly utilise both screens of the Nintendo DS to navigate the high seas in search of pirate treasure, delivering Sonic’s classic high-speed 2D gameplay in the ultimate Sonic handheld experience.”

So, more of the same. Which if you ask me, is a GOOD thing. Sonic Rush was the first breath of fresh air the franchise had had in a long while and, well, delivered pretty much what the press release up there said (which in itself is an accomplishment). Some - including Kotaku’s McWhertor - feel that Sega’s failure to reinvent the franchise for the millionth time heralds an end of days for Sonic. In my opinion, the less they screw with the formula, the better.

[via Sega’s press release, Kotaku]