The Super Awesome Nerd Blog!

Debunked? Nintendo Denies Rumors of New DS Redesign

2008-04-16T13:38:00.000-07:00

The head of PR for Nintendo of Japan (NCL) has issued a statement to the gaming media denying the rumors of a new Nintendo DS. The rep also questions what evidence the source of the rumors (Enterbrain CEO Hirokazu Hamamura) had to make such claims.

The rumor was that a new Nintendo DS redesign would be revealed at this summer's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). It quickly made gaming headlines after Hamamura-san made the unofficial announcement in Weekly Famitsu. Famitsu is Japan's #1 video gaming media network, publishing a handful of magazines as well as Famitsu.com. Hamamura-san's company, Enterbrain, is the parent company of Famitsu.

While this statement kills the rumors for now, I wouldn't be surprised if we do in fact see a redesign sometime within the next year. That's just how Nintendo rolls (not to mention they've denied rumors that turned out to be true before).

Source
1UP.com

Rumor: New Nintendo DS to be Revealed at E3

2008-04-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

Rumors of a new Nintendo DS have been circulating the internet and gaming scene for a while now, but the latest rumor seems the most likely.

Many people, including average gamers to game industry big wigs (such as Enterbrain's CEO), are speculating that Nintendo will announce a new Nintendo DS at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in July.

The rumors suggest that the new DS will simply be another redesign (like the DS Lite), in order to keep the DS brand going strong as Sony's PSP is finally gaining momentum. In other words, the new DS will likely be the same as the previous DS systems, with a few new features and likely a smaller and/or lighter design. Seems logical considering Nintendo released the DS Lite shortly after the PSP first launched (and they also redesigned the Game Boy Advance twice - first with the SP and then again with the Micro).

Personally, Super Nerd would much rather see a completely new system (such as a "DS 2" or a revival of the Game Boy brand), but a redesign might not be so bad if it significantly improves the hardware or functionality in some way.

Just keep in mind that this is merely rumors and speculation. Nothing has been officially announced or confirmed and Nintendo does not comment on rumors.

Stay tuned to the Super Awesome Nerd Blog! for more details as they become available.

'God of War 2' Greatest Hits Edition Now Available

2008-04-08T15:07:00.000-07:00

God of War 2 has joined Sony's 'Greatest Hits' budget series. New copies now retail for only $19.99 US and still include the bonus DVD. If you haven't played this epic action game yet, now would be a great time to redeem yourself before Kratos hunts you down and rips you in half. Not joking.

Sources
Best Buy
1UP.com Message Boards

New 'Final Fantasy' Games Plot to Conquer Your Summer

2008-04-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

This summer North American gamers will be bombarded with new Final Fantasy titles, according to recent updates by Square Enix. FF fans can expect to see Final Fantasy Tactics A2, Final Fantasy IV DS and Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon on store shelves beginning in June.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2 is the long awaited Nintendo DS sequel to 2003's Final Fantasy Tactics Advance on the Game Boy Advance. The game will play similar to the previous game, but will feature a new storyline, new characters, better graphics, new job classes and online capabilities via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. FFTA2 is scheduled to ship June 24th.

Final Fantasy IV for Nintendo DS is a remake of the original FFIV for SNES (also ported to PS1 and GBA), featuring for the first time 3D graphics and voice-acting. It is expected to ship this July.

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon is a light hearted dungeon crawler for Wii where gamers will play as a chocobo and explore dungeons and battle with cute monsters. It looks like a simple children's game, but will offer some depth and little bit of fan service for series fans. Just don't dive in expecting a full Final Fantasy experience. Chocobo's Dungeon is scheduled to ship July 8th.

Related Links
Square Enix

Sources
IGN
1UP.com
1UP.com Message Boards

Atlus's Anime Surgeons Return to Nintendo DS in 'Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2'

2008-04-08T12:13:00.000-07:00

Atlus USA has revealed that their quirky surgery game will get a sequel on the Nintendo DS this July.

The original Trauma Center was released for the Nintendo DS in 2005 and gained a moderate fanbase for its fun (though challenging) procedures, dramatic storyline and cute anime nurses. Truama Center: Second Opinion, a remake of Under the Knife, was released in 2006 for Wii with better graphics, additional chapters and different difficulty levels. 2007 saw Trauma Center: New Blood, a full-fledged sequel with voice-acting and 2-player cooperative play. New Blood was only released on Wii.

Under the Knife 2 is the first Trauma Center to be released on Nintendo DS since the original in 2005. It features a brand new storyline starring the cast from the original. The first game's fantasy virus GUILT may be gone, but the negative effects it caused are still at large. Under the Knife 2 will feature some new procedures as well as an easy mode for those of us who got our asses handed to us last time. Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 ships in North America on July 1st.

Related Links
Atlus USA

Source
1UP.com

'Mass Effect' PC Delayed

2008-04-08T11:42:00.000-07:00

Bioware, developer of hit action/sci-fi RPG Mass Effect, has announced that the release of the PC edition of the game is delayed to May 28th in North America and June 6th in Europe.

Mass Effect launched on the Xbox 360 late last year to critical acclaim and high sales. The PC edition will be the same game with a few enhancements that improve the overall quality of the game and make it more suitable for playing on a PC.

Bioware is also known for hit games such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire. They also developed the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog: Chronicles of the Dark Brotherhood for Nintendo DS.

Related Links
Bioware

Source
1UP.com

We're Back!

2008-04-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't updated in a while. To make up for it, I'm going to post a lot of updates and new features over the next few days - so stick around!

Also, the 'Upcoming Releases' feature has been removed. It was a hassle to keep updated. I might bring it back later, but I'll only list big releases.

As always, thanks for supporting The Super Awesome Nerd Blog!

New Persona 4 Screenshots

2008-03-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

Check out these new in-game images from Persona 4, taken from Famitsu.com.

Visually, the game looks similar to P3 but with a fresh interface and improved graphics. The art design is as stylish as ever. The fourth image seems to hint that they are dropping the randomly generated dungeon idea from P3. This has not been confirmed but I'm hopeful because I missed the clever dungeons from P2 and other recent Shin Megami Tensei games. A North American release has not been announced yet.

Source
Famitsu.com

Atlus Reveals 'Persona 4' for PS2!

2008-03-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 has officially been unveiled in the latest issue of popular Japanese game mag Famitsu. Persona 4 is scheduled to release for the PS2 in Japan this summer. Atlus USA has not announced a North American release yet, but it will likely come after Persona 3: FES (a directors cut of Persona 3 with new content) is released in the US this April.

Persona 4 (or 'P4' for short) takes place in a new setting. While P3 took place in the city, P4's main setting is a Japanese countryside. Many popular features from P3 return such as the calender/daily events, school events and activities, social links, battle system, persona fusions (an series staple) and an involved storyline with lots of voiceovers and the occasional anime cutscene.

New to P4 are the new cast of characters, new story thats centered around a mysterious chain of murders that occur on foggy days, additional personae (bringing the total to 180+), weather forecast system (a vital part to the story, will likely play a role in everyday events as well), new social links and several different endings to the story.

For more information on Persona 4, check out the 17-minute-long Japanese trailer (YouTube) and stay tuned to The Super Awesome Nerd Blog! Also, make sure you check out Persona 3: FES when its released stateside April 22nd, especially if you didn't play the original P3 that was released last summer.

Related Links
Offical P4 Japanese trailer (YouTube)
Famitsu P4 scans (Insert Credit message boards)

Sources
Kotaku
Joystiq
Famitsu (scans)

'Upcoming Releases' Updated

2008-03-12T16:34:00.000-07:00

New releases have been added to the Upcoming Releases list for the coming weeks. I've also dropped the tacky red highlighting.

If you read The Super Awesome Nerd Blog! via a RSS or e-mail reader, you may have to visit the actual blog page to see the Upcoming Releases list.

New Street Fighter IV Character Revealed

2008-03-12T15:04:00.000-07:00

Introducing 'El Fuerte', a Lucha Libre wrestler. Revealed in Japanese game mag Famitsu. Not much else is known at this time about him, but Street Fighter IV is expected to hit arcades sometime this summer.

Source
Kotaku

Free 'Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney' Playable Demo!

2008-03-10T15:47:00.000-07:00

If you haven't purchased Capcom's latest installment in the quirky lawyer series Ace Attorney, check out this cool Flash-based playable demo. Apollo Justice is the first game in the Ace Attorney series that was actually built from the ground up for Nintendo DS (the Phoenix Wright games are actually enhanced ports of Game Boy Advance games). This demo includes the entire first case and is an official release by Capcom.

New 'Disgaea' in the Works for Nintendo DS

2008-03-05T18:27:00.000-08:00

Cult favorite Japanese strategy role playing game (SRPG) series Disgaea will be making an appearance on Nintendo's dual screened Game Boy... er, Nintendo DS, reports Japanese game mag Famitsu.

Disgaea is a popular strategy series that plays similar to Final Fantasy Tactics, but with wacky characters such as a demon prince, his oddball vassals and demonic penguin slaves instead of your typical black mages and moogles. The series is also somewhat easier to pick-up and play and yet has a surprisingly large amount of depth. Previous games in the series include Disgaea: Hour of Darkness (PS2), Disgaea 2 (PS2) and Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness (PSP) - as well as series spin-off games like Phantom Brave (PS2) and Makai Kingdom (PS2) . There's also Disgaea 3, scheduled to release for the PS3 this August in the US.

It is unknown at this time if the DS game will be a new game in the series or a spin-off of some sort. But if its even half as good as the other Disgaea games, Nintendo DS owners will have yet another great game to add to their collection. NIS has not announced the game for US markets yet, but an announcement will likely come as the game progresses in development.

Source
DS Fanboy [Joystiq]

'Upcoming Releases' Updated

2008-03-05T18:14:00.000-08:00

Many new titles have been added to the Upcoming Releases list (seen in red).

If you read The Super Awesome Nerd Blog! via RSS or email reader, you may have to visit the blog page to see the Upcoming Releases list.

Okami (Wii) Delayed Into April

2008-03-04T17:45:00.000-08:00

Capcom has delayed the Wii port of 2006's acclaimed PS2 adventure game Okami. Originally scheduled for March 25th, Okami will now ship on April 15th.

No details have been provided on the cause of the delay, but with Super Smash Bros Brawl hitting this Sunday, maybe its a good idea to push Okami back a few weeks. It would be a terrible shame if Okami got overlooked by Wii gamers because they were too busy playing Brawl.

For those of you who already played Okami on PS2, there won't be any new content in the Wii version although it will support 16:9 (widescreen) and 480p (progressive scan). If you've never played Okami before, the Super Nerd will douse you in acid if you don't pick this version up day one. Serious.

Sources
1UP (news)
IGN (images

Gears of War 2 Coming November on Xbox 360

2008-03-04T16:09:00.000-08:00

Microsoft will release the sequel to the platinum hit Gears of War this November for the Xbox 360.

Details are scarce, but gamers can probably expect more of the same stuff we saw in the first Gears when it hit the Xbox 360 back in 2006. That's not necessarily a bad thing mind you, Gears of War received a lot of critical praise for its intense, innovative gameplay and impressive graphics. The game was an instant hit at retail, selling over 3 million copies within its first ten weeks and boosting sales of the [then new] Xbox 360 hardware.

Gears of War 2 will be exclusive to the Xbox 360 when it is released in November. It is currently unknown if the game will ever make its way to PC like the original Gears did.

Stay tuned to The Super Awesome Nerd Blog for more details as they emerge.

Source
Reuters

Release Lists Update

2008-03-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

I will no longer post the video game and anime release lists in the blog feed. They can now be found on the table to the right of the posts. If you read The Super Awesome Nerd Blog through an RSS or email reader, you may have to visit our blog URL to see the release lists now. The release lists are usually pretty long, so by removing them from the posts and instead pushing them to the side of the page I hope to make the blog look more organized.

Please leave feedback on whether you like the change or not.

Sequel to GameCube's Hit RPG 'Tales of Symphonia' Coming Locally for Wii

2008-02-27T15:38:00.000-08:00

Namco Bandai will release Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World for Nintendo Wii later this year. Dawn of the New World is a direct sequel to the hit role playing game Tales of Symphonia (2004) on Nintendo GameCube.

Dawn of the New World takes place two years after the first game ended. The balance between the two worlds in the first game has gone screwy and it has resulted in disaster for the new world. Many of the characters from Tales of Symphonia will return, although Lloyd Irving is no longer the main character. The game instead introduces two brand new protagonists, 16 year old Emil Castagnier and his 15 year old tomboy partner Marta Lualdi. And believe it or not, they blame Lloyd for the sorry state of the new world and embark on a quest to find him.

While Dawn of the New World should bring some much needed role-playing action to RPG-deprived Wii owners, Tales fans should note that this game is not being made by the same team as Symphonia, but rather a small, lower budget studio. The original Symphonia team is actually working on Tales of Vesperia for Xbox 360.

Stay tuned for more details in the future.

Source
IGN

God of War Red PSP Bundle Coming This June

2008-02-26T17:23:00.000-08:00

Sony will release a new PSP Slim bundle this June. It sports sleek crimson red paint and God of War's main man Kratos on the battery cover (similar to Darth Vader on the Star Wars PSP Slim). The bundle will include the critically acclaimed God of War: Chains of Olympus (dropping early March, for those who you who already have PSPs), the hit comedy SuperBad on UMD, and a free download of Syphon Filter: Combat Ops. The bundle will be retail for $199.99 (US).

Source
Kotaku
IGN

Official: Atlus USA Announces Persona 3: FES, Releases April 22

2008-02-26T14:16:00.000-08:00

Atlus USA has announced that they will be releasing Persona 3: FES in North America for PlayStation 2 this April, for the suggested retail price (SRP) of $29.99 (US).

FES is a director's cut of last summer's critically acclaimed Persona 3. It spans two discs and contains the original Persona 3 with several new upgrades as well as a brand new chapter that takes place after the original game ends. The new chapter adds about 20 hours to the already massive 100+ hours game.
If you missed out on the Persona 3 the first time, you owe it to yourself to check out this director's cut. Persona 3 is one of the most engrossing and innovative Japanese RPGs released in years. Leading a cast of high schoolers, players attend school to boost academics and create social links during the day hours. But once night comes, they prepare for the Dark Hour (a hidden hour between 12AM and 1AM that only a select few can exist in). Time moves slowly during the Dark Hour and you must lead your party of high schoolers through dungeons to fight off demons called Shadows and prevent the world from collapsing into a state of chaos and annihilation. Not only can you equip your characters with weapons and armor, but you can also fight using Persona (demons manifested within the minds of each character). Personae are summoned by "shooting" one's self with a gun shaped tool called an Evoker (while characters don't usually die from summoning their Persona, it should be noted that there is plenty of violence and death in the game and it is not recommended for children or impressionable teens). The battle system is deep, innovative and, as always, requires quite a bit of strategy. Shin Megami Tensei is known for its hardcore difficulty and Persona 3 is no exception. You had better exploit your enemy's weakness and guard your own or you'll find yourself dying. A lot. And, unlike most Final Fantasy games, level grinding isn't going to help you. Your success depends on your strategies and your choice of Persona. But don't let this intimidate you, the challenge is what keeps the battles entertaining.

If you already played Persona 3, you might want to check out FES for the new content (unless of course you didn't like the original that much). Some of the new features include new S-Link events, alternate costumes, 17 new BGM tracks, a weapon synthesis system, new side-quests, new cutscenes, additional voice overs, and of course the new chapters and endings.

Unfortunately, this time around the artbook and soundtrack CD will not be included with the game. But you can't really complain when you're getting an excellent directors cut for only $30. Most directors cuts of RPGs never even get released outside of Japan (damn you, Square Enix!). So mark your calender for April 22, and don't you dare pass this up if you've never played the original release.

Persona 3 and Persona 3: FES are both rated Mature (17+) by the ESRB.

Related Links
Atlus USA
Persona 3 official website
Sources
Atlus USA
1UP.com

R.I.P.: HD DVD is Officially Dead, Blu Ray Wins the Format War

2008-02-19T11:41:00.000-08:00

Toshiba corp. today announced that after nearly two years, they will be abandoning their HD DVD movie format, thus making Sony's Blu Ray format the winner in the high definition competition.

The competition was pretty close with big companies like Disney (Buena Vista, Touchstone), Sony Pictures (Columbia, Lionsgate) exclusively supporting Blu Ray while Universal, DreamWorks and Viacom (Paramount) exclusively backed HD DVD.

But everything started going downhill for HD DVD last month, starting with Time Warner (Warner Bros, Turner)'s decision to exclusively back Blu Ray. Soon after, other major companies and retail chains such as New Line, HBO, Walmart, Best Buy, Netflix, EMI, ADV and National Geographic went Blu Ray exclusive.

For more details, see Toshiba's press release as well as PC World's Blu Ray VS HD DVD timeline.

Sources:
Toshiba.co.jp (news)
PC World (additional info)
1UP.com Message Boards (image)

Rumor: Atlus USA to Announce 'Persona 3: FES' A Week From Now

2008-02-18T19:47:00.000-08:00

A countdown clock has been posted on Atlus USA's official website and it has got fans speculating. The most likely speculation is that Atlus will announce the North American release of FES, the long awaited expansion pack to last summer's blockbuster RPG Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 for the PS2.

Already available in Japan, FES adds 20+ hours of new content to the epic game which already contains 100+ hours of gameplay and awesome anime cutscenes.

Expect more details when (if) Persona 3: FES is announced next week.

Related Links:
Atlus USA
Persona 3 offical website

Source:
1UP.com Message Boards

Video Games - US Release List for the Week of 2/17/2008

2008-02-18T14:27:00.000-08:00

I personally am looking forward to buying Apollo Justice this week.
[All release dates are subject to change]

Video Game Releases of the Week

2/18 - Dungeon Explorer: Warrior of the Ancient Arts - PSP / Konami / Teen
2/18 - FIFA Street 3 - PS3, 360, DS / Electronic Arts / Everyone
2/19 - Dynasty Warriors 6 - PS3 / KOEI / Teen
2/19 - The Club - PS3 / Sega / Mature
2/19 - Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney - DS / Capcom / Teen

Future Releases of Note

2/26 - Patapon - PSP / Sony / Everyone
3/4 - God of War: Chains of Olympus - PSP / Sony / Mature
3/9 - Super Smash Bros Brawl - Wii / Nintendo / Teen
3/25 - Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core - PSP / Square Enix / Teen

Anime & Manga - US Release List for the Week of 2/17/2008

2008-02-18T14:09:00.000-08:00

Not many releases this week...
[All release dates are subject to change]

Anime DVDs for 2/19/08

Moonlight Mile vol 1: One Small Step
Tokyo Majin vol 2: Dark Arts: Predestined Power
Tokyo Majin vol 2: Dark Arts: Predestined Power + Art Box
Welcome To The N.H.K. vol 3: 3rd Conspiracy

Anime Books* for 2/20/08
*Anime Books include manga/graphic novels, novels, art books, ani-manga, ect.

Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service manga vol. 6

Future Releases of Note

2/29 - Mushishi manga vol. 3
3/4 - Black Cat manga vol. 13
3/4 - Blood+ DVD vol. 01
3/4 - Nana manga vol. 9
3/4 - Negima! manga vol. 17

Super Smash Bros Brawl (Wii) One Million Copies Sold In Just 11 Days

2008-02-13T13:03:00.000-08:00

Nintendo's killer ap for the Wii hasn't even been released outside of Japan yet but that hasn't stopped it from reaching the one million copies sold milestone. Super Smash Bros Brawl reached the one million mark after only eleven days, setting a new sales record for the mega-popular Wii console.

Super Smash Bros Brawl features a large selection of Nintendo characters from many different Nintendo games. Players choose their favorite characters and then battle it out in the game's many single player and multiplayer modes. Previous games in the series are Super Smash Bros Melee (best selling GameCube game of all time) and Super Smash Bros (Nintendo 64). Some features new to Brawl include Assist Trophies (which grant a player the ability to call on a computer controlled character for assistance), Final Smashes (limited use attacks that deal massive damage on your opponents), new characters such as Sega's iconic Sonic the Hedgehog and Konami's Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series, new stages, a far more epic Adventure Mode and online play via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Super Smash Bros Brawl will be released in North America in March.

Related Links:
Smash Bros official website

Sources:
1UP.com