Nintendo DS

Rumor: DSi Kingdom Hearts 358/2 bundle coming, has GBA support?

Gino D. — 2008-10-10T14:36:45-07:00

The picture you see above shows a document which comes from a Japanese video game retailer called Manadarake Galaxy. This was faxed to a Neowin forum member who, in turn, got it translated. I'm sure you can make out "DSi" and "358/2" in the text, but what does it all mean?

According to the translation, Square Enix and Nintendo will be releasing a limited edition DSi sometime during the second quarter of next year. It's going to be a Kingdom Hearts bundle. Ok, not surprising, right? Considering that KH: 358/2 Days will be released soon, a DSi bundle sounds reasonable.

With that said, let's dig deeper, shall we? Here's what the bundle will have:

a copy of Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days
a copy of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
a silver DSi that has Gameboy Advance backwards compatibility

"Wait, what? I thought the GBA slot was taken out of the DSi?" Yep, my initial reaction exactly. Could this GBA-capable DSi be for real? And if so, why are they bundling Chain of Memories with it? Just because its from the same series? May be... however, it could also hint at something even more profound.

Remember how, in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, you can insert a GBA cartridge of Aria of Sorrow and get the Rare Ring? Maybe Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days will have that same sort of function with Chain of Memories in the GBA slot? Ooh, the plot thickens...

Thanks to B Marriner for the tip!

Ring 'er up: Toys 'R Us offering Buy-2-Get-1 promo next week

Isaac C. — 2008-10-10T14:01:42-07:00

Time to take out your wallets gamers, Toys 'R' Us is once again offering a buy-2-get-1 deal, a promo which they usually hold this time of the year. The promo will start on October 12 and end on October 18.

If you don't know how the deal works, here's how it goes. Buy any three games, and the cheapest one will be free. So I suggest you don't mix and match a DS game with two next-gen games.

If all three games cost the same, the last one rung up on the counter will be the free one (but then it really doesn't matter in that case, does it?).

Too bad they couldn't extend the promo a bit. A few more days and the promo could include games like LittleBigPlanet and Fable 2 - both will be released on October 21.

They will also be holding a sale on Wii accessories on the 12th and 13th. This sale reportedly won't include Wii Remote and Nunchuks, but will include Wii Point Cards.

DS Homebrew - Touhou DS v0.6

Mabie A. — 2008-10-09T20:06:51-07:00

weeaboo is back with v0.6 of his Touhou DS homebrew game. It is based on the Touhou Project game by Team Shanghai Alice, and is best described as "a series of manic shooters".

For its DS homebrew adaptation, weeaboo says that his goal "is to implement a Touhou-like engine on the DS that anyone can create content for -- like a portable version of Danmakufu.

Here's the changelog for Touhou DS v0.6:

Bugfixes:

Fixed a memory leak in the parser. Some temporary memory wasn't released correctly which caused the program to run out of memory prematurely.
Using the restart button several times caused the game to hang. This doesn't happen anymore now the memory leak in the parser has been resolved.
After exiting a level using the quit option, sprites would get bugged. For example, transparent areas would turn white or certain images would be flipped.
Fixed a text-positioning bug in the text renderer.
Calling a spell or object from another script file didn't work.

Improvements:

Replaced the player and enemy graphics by larger and better looking ones.
Improved hitbox-center-indicator visibility.
Better antialiasing for the DS buttons on the options screen.
Added scores and hi-scores. Hi-Scores are saved per game, difficulty, character.
The game now shows a Restart/Quit selection when you lose all your lives instead of just continuing.
You can now have more than one level.
The default textures can be overridden on a per-level basis.
Added a command to the scripting language that can change the background music.
Reimu now has homing bullets.

Download: Tohou DS v0.6

Media Create: PS3 posts worst weekly sales total, handheld titles dominate software sales

Karl B. — 2008-10-09T18:51:13-07:00

Over in Japan, Sony's PSP console is still pulling down some pretty impressive hardware sales numbers, but the company can't be happy with how the PlayStation 3 is doing.

The console just hit its lowest weekly sales record last week, moving only 7,232 units. That's more than a thousand units less than the Xbox 360's 8,271 units sold. Both consoles actually sold less than the PS2, while all three paled in comparison to the Wii's 25,330 units sold.

The top two spots in the hardware sales charts from last week were still dominated by the handhelds. The almighty DS Lite is still lording it over everything else with 42,385 units sold, while the PSP is at a distant second place with 26,045 units sold.

The PS3's dismal showing continues on the software side of things, where there's no title for the console anywhere in the top ten. Same thing goes for the Xbox 360. The software sales chart is actually an even split in terms of titles for Sony and Nintendo consoles, as you can see below:

Pocket Monsters Platinum (DS) - 122,000
Shin Sangoku Musou 5 Special (PS2) - 110,000
Super Robot Taisen Z (PS2) - 60,000
Rhythm Tengoku Gold (DS) - 54,000
Wii Fit (Wii) - 21,000
Jikkyou Powerful Major League 3 (PS2) - 18,000
To LoveRu Trouble: Doki Doki! Rinkaigakkou-Hen (PSP) - 16,000
Ikki Tousen: Eloquent Fist (PSP) - 15,000
World Destruction: Michibi Kareshi Ishi (DS) - 15,000
Dragon Ball DS (DS) - 12,000

TGS 2008: MHP 2ndG, Wii Fit top awardees in Japan Game Awards

Karl B. — 2008-10-09T18:22:01-07:00

The Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) awarded Nintendo's Wii Fit and Capcom's Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G top accolades in this year's Japan Game Awards held during the ongoing Tokyo Game Show.

Both games bagged the Grand Award in the ceremony's Games of the Year Division. Wii Fit was praised for "enormously enlarging the definition of the game and entertaimentalism" while 2nd G commended for its users' overwhelming support.

Here's a list of other awards handed out during the ceremony:

Award for Excellence

Wii Fit
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Devil May Cry 4
Dragon Quest 4: The Chapters of the Chosen
Pok mon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time / Explorers of Darkness
Mario Party DS
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G
Yakuza: Kenzan
Professor Layton and the Devil s Box (tentative title)
Winning Eleven 2008

Special Award

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Best Sales Award

Wii Fit

Global Award - Japanese Product

Wii Play

Global Award - Foreign Product

Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock

Eternity's Child creator: DS, iPhone can coexist; PSP's days may be numbered

Gino D. — 2008-10-09T09:20:11-07:00

Eternity's Child creator Luc Bernard speaks his mind about the current status of the portable market. See, there's the new PSP-3000 coming out, and then there's the DSi too. The iPhone's also starting to look like a worthy adversary in the portable gaming market, what with its App Store and all - so now, where does the whole industry stand?

Satoru Iwata already gave his thoughts on the subject matter - that they're not after iPhone's market share. And who can forget? Even John Koller had a thing to say about the current competition - that the DSi may be successful, but will remain for kiddies under 12.

So now, will anyone else give their own two cents? No, duh. Of course someone will pipe in!

In an interview with Pocket Gamer, Luc Bernad compares what game development is like for all three platforms. Now I know some of you may or may not agree with some of his points, but just note that these come from his side of things as a developer for the games. These are his opinions from the way he sees things in the portable market.

Pocket Gamer: What tempted you into producing games for the iPhone?

Luc Bernard: When I first picked up the iPhone and played around with it I was struck by just how beautiful a piece of hardware it was. I really love it and I like the fact that you can also carry the games over to the iPod touch, so it's effectively two formats. I don't see it as a rival for the DS so much but I think the PSP's days may be numbered.

What benefits do you see in producing games for the iPhone as opposed to say, the DS or PSP?

To be honest there are no benefits compared to the DS - now the DSi has a 'DS Ware' store on the way it's pretty much the final piece of the puzzle for Nintendo, but the iPhone is without a doubt the best phone to make games for. I believe the DS and iPhone can coexist in the portable market, but like I said I'm not so sure about the PSP's chances.

You can read up on the rest of the interview through the Via link below. He talks more about his future games - Eternity's Child (and its sequel), Defend Mechopolis, and an unnamed RPG (supposedly for the iPhone).

Luc Bernard not satisfied with Eternity's Child, not into casual gaming, opines on game industry

TGS 2008: Dissidia-themed PSP, Square Enix games Japan release dates

Isaac C. — 2008-10-09T08:51:09-07:00

At the Tokyo Game Show, Cloud and Terra were finally announced to be the missing members of the Dissidia roster. Though I'm not particularly surprised. What else is Square Enix up to down at TGS? Well how about a customized PSP-3000 with a Dissidia theme? This here unit will be part of the Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Limited Pack:

The release date for Dissidia: Final Fantasy has also been confirmed for December 18 - for Japan at least. Well what do you expect? It's the Tokyo Game Show. Considering how Square has a habit of releasing games internationally months after it was released in Japan, Dissidia will probably arrive early or mid-2009.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 was also confirmed for a release in February, and Dragon Quest IX sometime in March. Sadly, Final Fantasy XIII and Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep only get a release window of 2009. I think "vague" is the word you're looking for.

DS Homebrew - JNKPlatDS 08: Platdude's Happy Endings

Mabie A. — 2008-10-08T19:53:40-07:00

Platdude's adventure is soon to end, I guess. Jayenkai's rolled out his latest installment for his JNKPlat DS 08 homebrew, and it's got a curious subtitle to it: Platdude's Happy Endings.

So does Platdude really get a happy ending? What does he find outside the door once he finally escapes? We don't have the answers to those, unfortunately. What we do have, however, are the details that come along with this game.

The Controls

There's two jump buttons, and a hold button.
The hold button, B, can be used to dangle from hooks, vines and red floors. It can also be used to drag red boxes.
The two jump buttons, Y and A, jump left and right respectively. It's easy once you try. If you really dislike it, you can switch to single button jump on the main menu, but I wouldn't recommend it! Some things happen too quickly to stop and turn around!

The Level Packs

Level packs can contain many many levels, but each level must be played in the order layed out in the pack.
No saves! If you die 3 times, you're right back at the start.

The Editor

Tap the middle icon on the titlescreen to enter the editor.
Draw a level.
Hold a trigger, and a Wipe/Quit and Test button appear at the bottom. If you test a level, and subsequently complete it, and you can then also Save it from this same Trigger-based menu. Note : You can only save a level if you've managed to complete it! You don't need all the gems, but you do need to get to the exit.

The level will be added as a simple line of ascii text, to the bottom of the JNKPlat/MyLevs.lev file on your card (assuming you're using the DLDI version, and have added the JNKPlat folder to the root.)
Each line is it's own level. Feel free to copy paste these lines to build up your own little level packs.

Levels

Over 100 levels of kick ass hardcore platform puzzling action.

Level Editor

Make your own kick ass hardcore platform puzzling levels.
Two Jump Buttons
Jump one way!
Jump back!

Graphics

FOUR whole graphical styles!!
Now it really will hurt your eyes a bit!

Beeps

OMG! Your ears will explode from all the retro onion beeping!

Jayenkai notes at the end of his post that "unless there's bugs, or anything really really good comes up", this release will be good enough for now. It is a good release. Period. Do enjoy guys!

Download: JNKPlat DS 08 - Platdude's Happy Endings

Call of Duty: World at War perks list

Karl B. — 2008-10-08T19:33:02-07:00

A new Perks list for Call of Duty: World at War (PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii, DS) has surfaced, and this one has reportedly been confirmed. You can check out the full list below. Call of Duty: World at War is slated for release on November 11 in North America and November 14 in Europe.

Perk 1

Special Grenades x3
Satchel Charge x2
M9A1 Bazooka x2
Bomb Squad
Bouncing Betty x2 (similar to claymores)
Bandolier
Primary Grenades x2
M2 Flamethrower

Perk 2

Stopping Power
Fireworks (explosives cause more damage)
Flak Jacket (decreases damage taken by explosives)
Gas Mask
Juggernaut
Camouflage
Sleight of Hand
Shades (decreases intensity of signal flares)
Double Tap
Overkill

Perk 3

Deep Impact
Extreme Conditioning
Steady Aim
Toss Back (resets fuse on tossing back enemy grenade)
Second Chance (ability to revive allies)
Martyrdom
Fireproof
Dead Silence
Iron Lungs
Reconnaissance (shows artillery and tanks on map)

Vehicle Perk

Water Cooler
Greased Bearings
Ordnance Training
Leadfoot
Coaxial Machine Gun

Wii and DSi stores: payment system can't exchange Nintendo Points

Isaac C. — 2008-10-08T11:00:42-07:00

Unless you missed it because you were too busy ogling at the DSi's new camera feature, Wii Points will soon be renamed to Nintendo Points. This is so they can also be used for the new DSi store.

Word of note though - once you plug in the points into a system, they're no longer interchangeable. You either spend the entire point card on a Wii, or a DSi. Not both. So don't go buying a card with 5000 Nintendo Points thinking you can split them between the two.

The new cards will start circulation in November in Japan. Other regions will have to wait till next year before they get their own.

DS Homebrew - True Remembrance DS v1.0

Mabie A. — 2008-10-07T21:07:23-07:00

Remember the DS Visual Novel Reader that was out? It had Shiba Satomi's True Remembrance visual novel in it, right? Well now, we have it on its own, with True Remembrance DS v1.0.

For this visual novel release, deve loper weeaboo has fixed mos of the remaining graphical errors. The disappearing sprites have also been fixed, as well as the wrong positioning and others.

Download: True Remembrance DS v1.0

Enterbrain's Hamamura lists big games for TGS 2008

Mabie A. — 2008-10-07T16:49:19-07:00

With only a couple of days left before Tokyo Game Show 2008 unfolds, there's a lot of speculations and predictions as to what games will shine through and deliver at this year's event. President of Famitsu magazine publisher, Enterbrain, is not spared from making his own predictions.

At a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, Hirokazu Hamamura rankles off the titles that he is looking forward to see and what could be its possible impact to their respective companies and platforms.

He reveals that he is looking forward to seeing the Square Enix booth for the almost-ripe-for-the-picking Final Fantasy XIII. He believes that the way the game will be presented will have a direct impact on the sales of the PlayStation 3 console. Of course that makes sense. The more the audience is enticed into buying the game, then the more people will see the need to buy the console.

He also would like to check out if Dragon Quest IX, also from Square Enix, will be playable. It should be interesting to see how this latest installment of the franchise will fare especially when it comes out next year in March.

Monster Hunter 3 is also a must-see. After all, Hamamura views the game as "one of the keys Nintendo must unlock before the Wii appeal to core gamers." He's also hoping to catch Sony's White Knight Chronicles, which he predicts will "gather a lot of attention."

Well, it won't be long till we found out for ourselves, right? In case you haven't marked your calendars yet, the Tokyo Game Show 2008 will be happening on October 9 to 12 (that's already this Thursday, folks!) at the Makuhari Messe outside of Tokyo. However, the first two days are exclusive for the media folks only. But don't worry, Saturday and Sunday will be open to the public.

Chart Track UK software: FIFA 09 scores a goal, week ending Oct 4

Gino D. — 2008-10-07T13:55:36-07:00

As if there were any doubts about it, the UK indeed loves its football. With the recent release of FIFA 09 across all major platforms, the latest Chart Track sales figures have experienced an upheaval. Ole!

Setting a record, FIFA 09 shoots straight to the top of the All Formats Chart as a debuting entry, toppling Star Wars: The Force Unleashed from first place. In fact, EA's latest football game outsold its predecessor (FIFA 08, obviously) by around 37 during its first week.

Of FIFA 09's total sales, 42 came from the Xbox 360 version - thus making it the third fastest-selling 360 game in the UK, topped only by GTA4 and Halo 3. Another 40 of its total sales were accounted for by the PS2 version, and 3 from the PSP. As for the rest of the top notchers, here's the list of top 10 games in the All Formats Chart for the week ending October 4:

FIFA 09
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
Wii Fit
Mario Kart Wii
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
Wii Play
Big Beach Sports
Pure
Carnival Funfair Games

New online club mode in FIFA Soccer 09, demo hits tomorrow

From Software lists TGS 2008 game lineup

Gino D. — 2008-10-07T10:43:05-07:00

Here's a last minute update from From Software before people go packing their bags to head to the Tokyo Game Show. At From's official website, they've revealed their game lineup for this weekend's event. Here are the games you can expect at From's booth:

Tenchu 4 (Wii) - demo, trailer, stage event
Ninja Blade (Xbox 360) - demo, trailer, stage event
Tenchu: Shadow Assault (XBLA) - demo, trailer
LongQ (DS) - demo, trailer
Armored Core for Answer (PS3, Xbox 360) - demo, trailer, stage event
Meet Me (PC) - demo, trailer, stage event
Onore no Shinzuru Michi Wo Yuke (PSP) - demo

Straaange. I thought they'd be showing off Demon's Souls in TGS? Hmm, maybe it'll be located at Sony's booth? The upcoming PS3 game is, after all, from both From Software and Sony.

Meanwhile, the PSP game listed above, Onore no Shinzuru Michi Wo Yuke is a puzzle game that'll be showcased via demo. Interesting to note here is that the demo will be playable with a PSP-3000 unit.

Sony's Koller: DSi may be successful, will remain for kiddies under 12

Gino D. — 2008-10-07T09:27:36-07:00

Sony brand manager for the PSP, John Koller, recently spoke his mind about Nintendo's new DS upgrade: the DSi.

Gizmodo was able to ask Koller about his reaction to the DSi, and as it turns out, he does have some positive remarks (but at the same time still somehow manages to take a potshot at the DS' "12 and under" demographic). Here's the full quote:

Nintendo has kind of a history of these [moderate] kinds of updates, and even with DS Lite, there was a lot of discussion, "Is that enough?" And they seemed to do pretty well there.

I can see the DSi being successful. The DS lite was obviously very successful. Will DSi do well with [the DS's] demographic? It probably will. Will it be a product that expands their user base [beyond] under 12? I'm not sure.

While no one can argue with that (well, it's his opinion, anyways - everyone's entitled to their own), it's interesting to hear him talk of "moderate kinds of updates" in the DS lifespan. Can anyone dare say the same thing of the PSP? Anyone? None? After all, when the PSP-3000 was announced, I heard comments that went something like "brighter screen, microphone, that's it?!"

DS Homebrew - Super Smash Bros Rumble Demo 5 Beta

Mabie A. — 2008-10-06T22:41:49-07:00

DS homebrew developer Fuzzy makes good on his promise as he delivers today the fifth Beta for his homebrew game Super Smash Bros Rumble.

For now, there's still only one stage, but there are already nine characters for you to choose from. They're also having problems with the KT_lib/EFS system so more stages will probably take another week to finish.

But do enjoy the Beta Version. Fuzzy and team are working on adding the music and some more stages, as mentioned above, so just sit tight and a fixed version will be on its way soon.

Download: Super Smash Bros Rumble Demo 5 Beta

Iwata: DSi not after iPhone and PSP marketshare

Mabie A. — 2008-10-06T18:46:10-07:00

Anyone who's seen the new DSi handheld from Nintendo might have thought at one point that its features are oddly similar to Apple's iPhone and Sony's PSP. Camera: check. Music Playback: check. Online Capability: check. You may think it, but you're thinking wrong.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata says clearly enough that it's not an iPhone/PSP wannabe, because it's not after these marketshares in the first place. According to him,

We wanted to have the device on them at all times. By downloading subway maps and other things, for instance, the DSi can be useful for applications other than playing games.

It's all about making it fit naturally into people's everyday lives. Apart from that, he also said that the online functionality available on the DSi will allow users to "customize" their experience with the handheld.

The DSi is coming to Japan first thing next month, November 1, and will also see a Western launch, though not till "well into 2009."

Nintendo DSi will have region-based restrictions

Isaac C. — 2008-10-06T14:20:08-07:00

Tech-savvy gamers, you might want to perk up your ears for this one. According to Nintendo, both downloadable DSi software and future DSi cartridge games will be region locked.

Nintendo explains the reasons for these restrictions, saying:

DSi is region locked because DSi embeds net communication functionality within itself and we are intending to provide net services specifically tailored for each region.

Also because we are including parental control functionality for Nintendo DSi and each region has its unique age limit made by different independent.

You might want to keep it in mind before you pick one up when it becomes available. If you don't plan on buying games from outside your region though, you have nothing to worry about.

Buyout rumor: EA eyeing Epic Games?

Karl B. — 2008-10-03T19:45:13-07:00

After their takeover bid of Take-Two Interactive fell through, Electronic Arts may be on the hunt once again for another studio to buy out. Rumor has it that this time, EA's eyes are set on Epic Games.

According to Gameguru, EA has already started looking into the viability of acquiring Epic and, in effect, the Unreal Engine. Word is that EA's main plan this time is to acquire exclusive licensing rights to the next generation of Epic's Unreal Engine. And of course, Epic's games.

Gameguru also notes that an EA employee has reportedly been "shifted to Microsoft" to check out how strong the potential of the Gears of War series as a long-term franchise is.

It's only a rumor at this point, but for discussion's sake, how do you guys feel about an EA-published Gears of War 3?

Strauss Zelnick: Take-Two will remain independent

Karl B. — 2008-10-03T18:55:27-07:00

This morning, Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick laid down the final word on Take-Two's status as a company, deciding to remain independent after all.

"Our management and outstanding and talented employees have maintained an unwavering focus on our products and our business through this lengthy strategic review process and we are confident in our prospects," said Zelnick.

Take-Two CEO Ben Feder also added the following:

We have delivered solid financial results and expanded our portfolio of leading titles...with no debt and an undrawn $140 million credit facility [this gives] us the financial flexibility to continue to do what we do best: innovate and create the great games that our customers have come to expect.

A full stable of big names, lots of money, and no debt? Looks like Take-Two has quite a future ahead of it.