Nintendo news round-up: Wii console and game price drops, Humble Bundle, Wii Play: Motion and more

Friday, April 22nd, 2011 at 10:52pm by Chelsea

- Within the past week, major retailers such as Amazon, Target, GameStop, and Wal-Mart quietly dropped the price of the latest Wii bundle (which includes Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, a MotionPlus remote, and Nunchuk) from $199.99 to $169.99. If you’re reading this site yet somehow still don’t own a Wii, it looks like there couldn’t be a better time to finally get your hands on one and be the envy of all your early-adopting friends. (Technorati)

- Speaking of price drops, if you’re like many of us, you may have picked up Wii Sports Resort to take a stab at the MotionPlus technology. But for those who have held off, both Wii Sports Resort and Wii Party have dropped in price to $39.99. There’s a party in your wallet and Nintendo hopes they’re invited. (Press Release)

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PlayStation CEO trolls for headlines by calling 3DS “babysitting tool”, probably needs his diaper changed

Monday, April 11th, 2011 at 7:28pm by Chelsea

What do you do in the dog-eat-dog business world when the competition has left your mangled corpse in the dust in terms of sales figures? Inform the press that your rivals are a bunch of poopoo buttfaces , clap the dirt off your hands and pat yourself on the back for a job well done, of course. Total self-delusion is doing wonders for Charlie Sheen — when your career takes a huge nosedive, just fly in the face of all logic and reason, adamantly repeat that you’re still “Winning, DUH!” and they’ll believe you. Why not Sony too?

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Nintendo news round-up: To no one’s surprise, we won’t be seeing a Nintendo phone, toaster, or dishwasher anytime soon

Sunday, April 3rd, 2011 at 12:42am by Chelsea

- This strikes me more as non-news, but apparently the fact that Sony and Microsoft create phones meant someone felt it would be pertinent to hound Nintendo about whether they’ll be dabbling in non-gaming tech such as cell phones themselves. To my endless relief, the answer was a resounding no, with Reggie Fils-Aime stating “We have no desire to get into telephony.” I say, good. Leave the tinkering in various other electronic markets and convergence devices to the rest, and Nintendo can continue their laser focus on the things they do best — making outstanding consoles and games. ( CNN )

- Weaksauce 3DS battery life got you down? It’s Nyko to the rescue, with their new Charge Base product which claims to double the standard battery life of the 3DS. That would put the $29.99 Nyko offering at around 6 – 10 hours of staying power. Still not as good as the DS lite, but if it really delivers, maybe it could be a worthwhile investment for gamers who spend a lot of time on the go and don’t want to have to be plugged into a power source all the time. On the downside, Nyko’s battery increases the bulk of the 3DS, and adds extra cost on top of the $249.99 system cost which may be off-putting in itself. Are you going to try picking up the Nyko Charge Base? ( Nyko )

- Remember Infendo’s post long ago about the 8-bit Weezer album created by Pterodactyl Squad for free download? They’re at it again, this time with an 8-bit variation of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon. Grab the free download from the link, here. ( PTE Squad )

- Infendo reader Pedro Rivera sent in this picture, demonstrating how fans welcome the 3DS at a Gamestop in Plaza Carolina, PR. This guy takes the cake for super fandom. ( Infendo )

Okamiden review: A pint-sized, simplified extra cute helping of Okami

Sunday, March 27th, 2011 at 2:27pm by Chelsea

When Okami debuted on the PS2, it garnered plenty of critical acclaim and eventually saw a version released for the Wii in 2008. Though it couldn’t quite rack up the impressive sales figures of a Zelda release (and actually holds a Guinness World Record as the “least commercially successful winner of a game of the year award”), reviews universally praised the gameplay, music and stunning visual style.

Despite Okami’s disappointing commercial performance, on March 17 Capcom released Okamiden, a direct sequel to the beloved cult classic – this time on the Nintendo DS. Does it live up to the grandeur and breathtaking aesthetics of the original Okami? And can the accuracy of the stylus compensate for the graphical downgrade? In this review, I’ll sum up the gameplay, graphics/audio, controls, and story of Okamiden to help provide an answer to those questions.

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Nintendo news round-up: 3DS PlayCoin details, debate over Zelda remakes, and more

Thursday, March 17th, 2011 at 1:32pm by Chelsea

As sales of the 3DS mount in Japan and preorders break records in the UK, the hype and mystery surrounding the enticing new portable is reaching a fever pitch. The 10 day countdown to our stateside release date starts now!

- Wondering how long it’ll take to rack up those PlayCoins as you walk around town with your 3DS? As the system’s pedometer tracks your mileage, you’ll earn one PlayCoin for every 100 steps, which you can then apply to any 3DS games that support them, such as by purchasing figurines in Street Fighter. Other useful features? You can share MP3 playlists via StreetPass, and the 3DS supports wi-fi networks that are WPA2, TKIP, and AES, as well as storing and automatically detecting up to three different network connections on one system. (GiantBomb)

- While it’s great that younger gamers will get to experience a graphically enhanced redesign of Ocarina of Time, veteran fans may be a bit dismayed by what appears to be yet another remake. The writer of The Superficial, one of the foremost (and most amusing) celebrity gossip blogs, had this to say on the matter: “Ooh, the Zelda game from my senior year of high school. Innovating!” Where’s the 3DS Zelda game for fans that aren’t 12 years old or slaves to nostalgia? Can you imagine what a momentous launch we’d have had if the 3DS had debuted alongside a brand new 3D Zelda title? Nintendo already gets a fair share of flak every time they release a new game with “Mario” or “Zelda” in the title, simply because they are such familiar characters, but it gets even harder to defend them when they pass on a rare opportunity to make a Tetris-sized splash in the handheld realm. Instead we get… a remake of a 13 year-old game which won’t even be available at launch. I will love and cherish Ocarina of Time all of my days, but I expect more from a company whose guiding philosophy is the element of surprise. (The Superficial on Facebook)