Nintendo Game Spot

Rayman Legends

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 02:12:00 -0700

Rayman Legends is like a bigger, grander Rayman Origins. Everything that made the 2011 title a stellar experience is back with more polish, more levels, the same amazing artwork aesthetic, and challenges that’ll have you pulling your hair out. Just about everything from the original Origins

release has been improved and polished to the point that fans of the first game will be overjoyed, while newcomers to the series will find a polished experience not unlike what Nintendo usually provides.

Nintendo eShop downloads

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 02:11:00 -0700

Another Thursday means downloads for both the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS eShop are ready for you. This week the Wii U is getting Pure Chess on both the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS, while

Wii U owners will be able to experience a free weekend of Wii Sports Club for any of the sports that have been released, even if you’ve already used your free trial.

Nintendo Wii U New Releases

Pure Chess
Hello Kitty

Nintendo Wii U virtual console

Volleyball

Monkey Pirates Screens

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 02:07:00 -0700

A multiplayer game inspired from those 90's games when you used to invite friends at home playing on the same TV Henchmen Studio has revealed the first screenshots from Monkey Pirates , a new Wii U game in which you control the boat of one of 4 specific captains and you fight regarding multiples

game modes over multiples arenas based on 4 seas..

In those arenas you will find multiples bonuses in order to either, improve your weaponry, improve your ship, or a special bonus for a special effect. You will also have to deal with specials elements such as icebergs, volcanoes, teleports, maelstroms and turrets.
During the solo experience the game can be played either on the TV, the Wii U GamePad controller, or both. During multiplayer games the Wii U GamePad controller displays a general game situation, letting you know which player is leading, who's the weakest, who's the better armed etc.
Read more at http://www.gamershell.com/news_162053.html#WojqXbZ8YZ1MMHiW.99

2014 could be Nintendo’s year

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 02:03:00 -0700

Family gaming is where the Wii made its money, and it is certainly a strong selling point for the Wii U. While both the Xbox One and PS4 have next to no child-friendly games, almost all of Wii U’s top titles are family-friendly.

2014 should be a good year in terms of titles, with “Bayonetta 2,” “Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze,” “Mario Kart 8” and “Super Smash Bros. U” all slated for release for the Wii U -- a strong

lineup by any standards.

Nintendo launches indie-focused online

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 15 Mar 2014 10:02:00 -0700

An online hub for Nintendo eShop Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS titles is now live with an emphasis on indie games.

The hub features more than 1,000 "new, classic and indie" games for the Wii U and the 3DS. The hub's design spotlights indie titles such as SteamWorld Dig, GunMan Clive, Moon Chronicles, Cave Story, Attack of the Friday Monster and more.

Nintendo of America's Dan Adelman and Damon Baker told Polygon at PAX Prime last year that the company is eager to accommodate indie developers on its platforms. Baker acknowledged at the time that Nintendo intends to address the eShop's design, which made it difficult to find indie-developed eShop content amongst major digital releases and Virtual Console titles.

"The Nintendo eShop is always a work in progress," Baker told Polygon. "We're going to have off-device availability [through the web, phone and smart devices] for eShop sales at some point. All of us feel that discoverability is going to be increasingly more important. We've got a nice flow of content, but as we grow the amount of content, it's going to be important that we find that holy grail solution of how we make discoverability a priority..."

According to Adelman, Nintendo has lowered the barrier for indie devs to bring their games to eShop and aims to "make it as close to frictionless as possible, [with a] really low cost of entry and a really smooth process."

Nintendo announced last October that it plans to bring the MonoGame Framework, an open source version of the Microsoft XNA 4 Framework, to the Wii U platform. MonoGame Framework allows devs to develop cross-platform games by re-using code.

A deal between Netflix and Comcast matters to gamers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 15 Mar 2014 09:59:00 -0700

When U.S. cable giant Comcast recently announced a deal with Netflix, in which the video-streaming service would receive a direct connection to the cable company in exchange for an undisclosed fee, it had the tech industry worried.

Netflix's performance had been suffering on Comcast's network while its performance on other internet service providers saw little degradation, a fact it made known publicly. Comcast denied it was stifling Netflix's traffic. While the cause of the poor performance was not revealed, the two companies reached an agreement where Netflix would pay Comcast a fee to directly interconnect with the cable company, vastly improving the quality of video streams for Comcast customers.

The deal is a boon for Comcast subscribers, who will now experience better-quality Netflix streams. But it has also raised concerns about the baseline robustness of the internet in North America, potentially uncompetitive behavior by monopoly cable companies and internet users being price-gouged with no alternative.

This particular deal may seem unrelated to the video game industry, but analysts and experts on net neutrality told Polygon that those who use online gaming services like Steam, Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network should be paying attention, because the precedents set in the cable world could potentially impact the gaming world, and it may not be for the better.

`Alan Wake' inspired by Stephen King, David Lynch

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 24 May 2010 18:36:00 -0700

Ask most video-game designers about their inspirations and they'll mention other games. But Sam Lake, the lead writer of Microsoft's "Alan Wake," drew more from books — especially Stephen King's.

"The setup of the game — a best-selling but troubled writer whose dark work of fiction starts to come true, blurring the line of nightmares and reality — is a very Stephen King type of a starting point for a story, so King's works were definitely a source of inspiration for us," says Lake, whose script name-checks the horror master right at the start.

But King isn't the only author on Lake's shelf. He also cites Paul Auster's "The Book of Illusions," Bret Easton Ellis' "Lunar Park" and Mark Z. Danielewski's "House of Leaves," all of which tackle questions of reality vs. illusion.

The setting for "Alan Wake" — a quirky small town in the Pacific Northwest — will remind many players of "Twin Peaks," and Lake welcomes the comparison, praising "the creepy atmosphere and the humor to balance that out" in David Lynch's landmark TV series. Lake says he and the other developers at the Remedy Entertainment studio are also big fans of "Lost": "It's a very good showcase of thriller pacing done right within a TV-series context."

Indeed, "Alan Wake" has the feeling of a TV drama: It's divided into "episodes," each beginning with a "Previously on 'Alan Wake'" recap. And Lake is hoping the "series" gets renewed. The team at Remedy is working on downloadable content for the game, which Lake sees "almost as a special feature of a TV series, something that builds a bridge between one season and the next — or, in this case, the first game and the potential sequel."

"If the players like the game and want more, we'd certainly like to do more," Lake says. "From the very beginning we have planned `Alan Wake' to be something bigger than just one game."

Box to contain oil leak touches down on Gulf floor

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 24 May 2010 09:45:00 -0700

A BP-chartered vessel lowered a 100-ton concrete-and-steel vault onto a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico on Friday, an important step in a delicate and unprecedented attempt to stop most of the gushing crude fouling the sea.

Underwater robots guided the 40-foot-tall box into place. Now that the contraption is on the seafloor, workers will need at least 12 hours to let it settle and make sure it's stable before the robots can hook up a pipe and hose that will funnel the oil up to a tanker.

"It appears to be going exactly as we hoped," BP spokesman Bill Salvin told The Associated Press on Friday afternoon, shortly after the four-story device hit the seafloor. "Still lots of challenges ahead, but this is very good progress."

By Sunday, the box the size of a house could be capturing up to 85 percent of the oil. So far about 3 million gallons have leaked in an environmental crisis that has been unfolding since a deepwater drilling platform exploded April 20, sending toxic oil toward a shoreline of marshes, shipping channels, fishing grounds and beaches. Eleven workers were killed in the accident.

The lowering of the containment device was a slow-moving drama playing out 50 miles from Louisiana's coast, requiring great precision and attention to detail. It took about two weeks to build the 40-foot box, and the effort to lower it by crane and cable to the seafloor began late Thursday night. After it hit bottom Friday afternoon, the crane gradually eased off to allow it to settle.

"We are essentially taking a four-story building and lowering it 5,000 feet and setting it on the head of a pin," Salvin said.

The task became increasingly urgent as toxic oil crept deeper into the bays and marshes of the Mississippi Delta.

A sheen of oil began arriving on land last week, and crews have been putting out floating barriers, spraying chemical dispersants and setting fire to the slick to try to keep it from coming ashore. But now the thicker, stickier goo — arrayed in vivid, brick-colored ribbons — is drawing ever closer to Louisiana's coastal communities.

There are still untold risks and unknowns with the containment box: The approach has never been tried at such depths, where the water pressure is enough to crush a submarine, and any wrong move could damage the leaking pipe and make the problem worse. The seafloor is pitch black and the water murky, though lights on the robots illuminate the area where they are working.

If the box works, another one will be dropped onto a second, smaller leak at the bottom of the Gulf.

At the same time, crews are drilling sideways into the well in hopes of plugging it up with mud and concrete, and they are working on other ways to cap it.

The well has been spewing about 200,000 gallons a day in the nation's biggest oil spill since the nearly 11 million gallons lost in the Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska in 1989.

The cause of the blast has not been determined, but investigators have been focusing on the so-called blowout preventer. Federal regulators told The Associated Press that they are going to examine whether these last-resort cutoff valves on offshore oil wells are reliable.

At Hopedale, a fishing community in St. Bernard Parish, La., that has been a staging area for efforts to protect inlets and bayous, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal stepped out of a helicopter and held aloft a tennis ball-size hunk of tarry oil he said a fisherman had retrieved near the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Oil was reported moving west of the Mississippi toward fishing and resort villages on the Louisiana coast.

After a flyover, Jindal described the orange and brown goo surrounding Louisiana's Chandeleur Islands as resembling "a ring around your bathtub."

Several members of Congress flew over the spill and then visited Hopedale on Friday as well.

U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., chairman of the House Energy and Environment Subcommittee, said hearings on the explosion will start next week.

"Lives were lost, livelihoods ruined," Markey said. "The lessons that will be learned will become laws."

BP plans to sell the petroleum it recovers after separating out the large amounts of natural gas and seawater — something that industry experts said should not present much of a problem.

"That's something they do for every oil well," said Don Van Nieuwenhuise, director of petroleum geoscience programs at the University of Houston. "They'll refine it and crack it and everything, and by the time it gets in your gas tank, you'll never even know it was in the water."

The oil's planned destination, BP's Texas City, Texas, refinery, has its own checkered history. An explosion there in 2005 killed 15 people and injured 170. Regulators last October hit BP with a record $87 million fine for safety violations.

___

Associated Press writers Cain Burdeau, Vicki Smith and Ray Henry in Louisiana, and Michael Graczyk in Houston contributed to this report.

Electronic Arts

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 May 2010 09:45:00 -0700

Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. reports its fiscal fourth-quarter results on Tuesday, with analysts expecting an adjusted profit versus a loss a year ago.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Analysts generally expect EA to report solid results for the January-March quarter, fueled by strong sales of "Battlefield: Bad Company 2" and "Mass Effect 2."

But Signal Hill analyst Todd Greenwald said "the upside will be slightly offset by lackluster results from 'Army of Two' and 'Dante's Inferno,' despite heavy marketing campaigns."

Investors will be watching for EA's guidance for the remainder of the year, especially the all-important holiday quarter. Noting that the company "dramatically lowered the bar" for fiscal 2011 last quarter when it forecast a revenue decline of 6 percent to 12 percent, Greenwald said he is confident EA "will have little trouble meeting any of its revenue goals this year." But he added he remains "skeptical that they will be able to exceed the top end of their earnings guidance (of 70 cents per share)."

WHY IT MATTERS: Electronic Arts sells some of the world's best-known video games, including "The Sims" and the popular "Madden" football series. How well its games do can reflect sentiment across a broad range of consumers.

WHAT'S EXPECTED: Analysts, on average, are expecting earnings of 5 cents per share on revenue of $835.4 million, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters. These estimates exclude one time items and they reflect accounting for deferred revenue for games with online components.

In February, EA forecast adjusted earnings of 2 cents to 6 cents per share on revenue of $800 million to $850 million.

LAST YEAR'S QUARTER: EA posted a loss of $42 million, or 13 cents per share. Excluding special items such as restructuring charges and accounting for deferred revenue, EA lost 37 cents per share.

Revenue was $860 million. Adjusted sales, which exclude changes in deferred revenue, totaled $609 million.

Nintendo looks to restore magic with 3D console

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 May 2010 09:43:00 -0700

Nintendo on Friday brushed off suggestions its magic may be fading despite declining sales of its Wii console, as it prepares to unveil a handheld 3D device it hopes will drive a new gaming revolution.

President Satoru Iwata remained tightlipped about the much-awaited gadget, tentatively know as the "3DS", only saying it will offer a whole new gaming experience to players.

He also shrugged off suggestions that Nintendo has passed the peak of its growth after the company announced its first decline in annual profit for the first time in six years Thursday on slowing sales of its Wii and DS devices.

The maker of the hit series "Super Mario Bros" saw net profit fall 18 percent in the year to March as it cut prices of the Wii in response to competition from Sony and Microsoft in the multi-billion dollar industry.

Boasting total lifetime sales of 70.93 million units, a record in the firm's history, the Wii has easily outsold Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 since its 2006 launch.

However, analysts say that as the impact of the Wii fades within a saturated market, Nintendo's next move will determine whether it still has the ability to lead the industry.

"We believe there is more room for us to expand the game playing population. We have to do our best, as an entertainment business, so that we can keep offering good surprises to consumers," Iwata told a news conference.

"Obviously, a game won't be fun only because you made it 3D," he said.

"This is still an uncharted territory that requires us to experience more trials and errors."

The so-called Nintendo 3DS will go on sale this fiscal year, allowing users to see 3D images without the need for special glasses. It will be showcased at the E3 game trade show in June in Los Angeles before its commercial launch.

Iwata's remarks came a day after the Kyoto-based company predicted net profit for this year to March 2011 would fall 12.5 percent.

Nintendo said it expects global sales of Wii consoles to fall to 18 million in the fiscal year, down from 20.5 million in fiscal 2009 and 26 million in fiscal 2008.

"I think 18 million consoles is a fairly ambitious target, considering it has been four years since this device was originally launched," Iwata argued.

"I am not pessimistic about the future. We only realise that selling more in the current business environment will be difficult," he said.

Iwata also said the new console will come with tighter piracy controls, which he said is a growing problem in Asia and Europe.

"What is worrying is that more and more people who wouldn't have engaged in these acts before are now doing it without hesitation," he said. "What worries us is that people finding no value in paying for software," he added.

Nintendo Sues Sites Over Game Copying

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 May 2010 09:41:00 -0700

Nintendo said Thursday that the company had filed suit against a network of sites that the gaming company said were used to sell game-copying technology.

Nintendo filed suit against NXPGAME of Queens, New York, charging that the site was selling so-called video game copiers that could be used to illegally copy Nintendo DS and DSi software.

"After multiple letters and telephone calls from Nintendo's legal counsel, the owner agreed to cease selling game copiers and closed his website," Nintendo said. "Shortly thereafter, the owner launched an identical business at a different website address, and redirected people who visited his old site to the new one to purchase illegal game copiers.

Nintendo said that the suit will reference Nintendo v. Chan, a 2009 case that ruled that game copiers violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

"Using game copiers to play unauthorized downloaded games is illegal and it's wrong," said Jodi Daugherty, Nintendo of America's senior director of anti-piracy, in a statement. "Piracy is especially harmful to smaller developers. When their creative works are stolen and copied illegally, some companies find it difficult to survive economically."

The suit was filed May 11 in the Western District of Washington.

US videogame sales drop in April

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 May 2010 09:38:00 -0700

US videogame sales dropped 26 percent in April, the fourth-largest year-on-year percentage plunge ever, according to market-tracker NPD Group.

Sales of videogame hardware, software and accessories fell to 766.2 million dollars in April from 1.03 billion dollars in the same month a year ago, NPD said late Thursday.

Hardware sales plunged 37 percent to 249.3 million dollars while software sales dropped 22 percent to 398.5 million dollars. Sales of accessories were down nine percent at 118.4 million dollars.

The handheld Nintendo DS was the top-selling game console for the month on sales of more than 440,800 units, less than half the number sold a year ago.

"Even with the decline, the DS was the best-selling hardware system for the month," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier. "The DS is approaching (Sony's) PS2 as the best-selling hardware system of all time."

The Nintendo Wii was next on sales of 277,200 units followed by Microsoft's Xbox 360 (185,400), Sony's Playstation 3 (180,800 units) and Sony's PSP (65,500).

Ubisoft's "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell" was the top-selling game for the month on sales of 486,100 units but sales for the month were weak overall in the absence of any other blockbuster new releases.

Three Nintendo titles were next: "Pokemon Soulsilver Version" (242,900), "New Super Mario Bros" (200,300) and "Pokemon Heartgold Version" (192,600).

Sony's PSP title "God of War III" sold 180,300 units.

Frazier said April's drop in sales was the worst since July 2009 and the fourth-largest ever in percentage terms.

"Some of the decline is explained by the shift of Easter timing," she said, noting that Easter shopping occurred in March this year instead of April.

Heart Association Promoting 'Active Play' Games

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 May 2010 09:37:00 -0700

Nintendo is teaming up with the American Heart Association (AHA) to promote its Wii consoles as a means to stay active.

Under the deal, Wii boxes will soon include the AHA brand, Nintendo and AHA will jointly host a health summit, and Nintendo consoles will be on display at future AHA health walks. They have also launched a Web site at activeplaynow.com.

"The two organizations come from different worlds but share the common goal of helping consumers discover how active-play video games contribute to healthy living," the site said.

The partnership focuses on the Wii Fit Plus, Wii Sports Resort, and the original Wii console. Boxes for these products will soon include an AHA stamp of approval, and an encouragement to purchase active-play games.

"The brand serves as a chance to remind people about the benefits of a healthy approach to living and how active-play video games can be an integral part of a healthy lifestyle," AHA said.

Nintendo and the AMA will also host a health summit featuring representatives from the science, health care, research, fitness, and video game industries in order to take a closer look at the benefits of active-play video games. No date has been set.

Nintendo will also have a presence at upcoming Start! Heart Walk events this fall, including those in Dallas, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, and Atlanta from September through November. Participants will be able to try out the Wii consoles.

Leaked Nintendo 3DS Prototype

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 May 2010 09:33:00 -0700

Today, Gizmodo posted an image from an FCC filing submitted by Nintendo that appears to be an early prototype circuit board of the upcoming Nintendo 3DS handheld. While the design of the board will certainly change during development, there are a few interesting tidbits to be noted in the image.

The most conspicuous is the top screen, which looks to sport a widescreen aspect ratio. The prototype’s bottom touch screen still appears to be the standard 4:3 ratio that current DS hardware has, though I imagine this will change prior to production and both screens will be widescreen. Whether backwards compatibility with existing DS titles will implement image-stretching or pillar-boxing to fill the new displays is unclear.
Another thing to note is that round, white component on the bottom-center of the logic board. While I can’t say for certain based on the low-res picture, it sure looks like an analogue stick, doesn’t it? I can’t really imagine what else it could be, so here’s hoping the 3DS will finally feature a proper thumb stick.
The Nintendo 3DS is said to feature autostereoscopic 3D displays which can produce 3D imagery without the use of 3D glasses. It will be backwards compatible with existing DS software, will have built-in force-feedback and improved wireless communication as well as battery life. Nintendo 3DS is rumored to be released this October.

American heart group join to tackle obesity

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 May 2010 09:30:00 -0700

The American Heart Association has teamed up with Japanese entertainment giant Nintendo to harness its Wii consoles and encourage Americans to exercise more to counter a soaring obesity problem.

Nintendo, whose Wii consoles with motion-controlling sensors took markets by storm in 2006, is working with the AHA in order to cut the risks of heart disease among Americans, their websites said.

According to the AHA nearly 70 percent of Americans do not get enough regular physical activity. Obesity, a major health problem in the US, is a determinant of cardiovascular disease, the number one killer in the country.

The association said that the average American spends more than eight hours a day sitting and recommends all adults to get at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week and 60 minutes daily for children.

Nintendo will carry the AHA logo on its active-play video game products including the Wii, the Wii Fit Plus, and the Wii Sports Resort.

The US has seen a dramatic increase in obesity during the past 20 years with roughly one in three adults considered obese, according to government statistics.

Nintendo hopes to reignite the Wii's sales, which have declined since its launch, and is banking on software aimed at increased physical activity as competitors such as Sony prepare to launch their own motion-sensing equipment.

The Kyoto-based company said earlier this month that games such as "Wii Sports Resort" and "Wii Fit Plus" helped raise the console's total lifetime sales to 70.93 million units, a record in the firm's history.