London, UK – Nordic Games is excited to announce that the über cool We Sing Deutsche Hits 2 will be available for purchase exclusively on the Wii in Germany.

We Sing Deutsche Hits 2 will feature 30 authentic tracks from Germany’s chart-topping artists giving fans the chance to sing along to the greatest songs in German musical history.

Singers can continue to belt out songs in their local language to truly immerse themselves in the game – appealing to both experienced karaoke pros and beginners alike. As with all We Sing titles, the awesome German hits are presented with the original music videos which will inspire maximum performance.

“The original We Sing Deutsche Hits went down extremely well with German fans and now we’re back for round two, offering an extensive back catalogue of fantastic German hits,” says Nik Blower, Sales and Marketing Director, Nordic Games. “Being able to sing the songs in your own language significantly enhances the overall singing experience.”

Fun for all the family, the game presents a choice of single and multiplayer modes with three levels of difficulty that can be enjoyed between four players, using four separate microphones.

Party mode includes We Sing, Versus, Group Battle, Pass The Mic, First to X, Marathon, Blind and Expert. There is also Solo mode, which can also be played in Blind and Expert mode. Karaoke mode strips the track of vocals to really challenge players, or those that fancy an authentic karaoke experience.

Other features include Singing Lessons to help singers fine tune their voices and a Jukebox to queue up songs like their own personal music channel.

In-game awards come from playing either single or multiplayer modes, adding further depth and replay value to We Sing 80s. Plus, once a track has been sung, players can replay performances and add cool effects to their voice.

More points can be achieved through Star Notes which provides extra points for hitting hard notes and Player Statistics give a detailed breakdown on performance on notes hit and missed with a comment on your performance at the end.

We Sing Deutsche Hits 2 will be released for Nintendo Wii in the last quarter of 2012. It will be available in a bundle with two microphones or as a standalone version.

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London, UK – Imagine if next month’s release of We Sing 80s wasn’t a glorious retrospective of the decade’s best tunes, but a contemporary release featuring current smash hits.

That’s the question posed by publisher Nordic Games, as it releases a video showing what We Sing 80s would have looked like had it been released on the most popular Nintendo console of the day.

The video shows a team of nostalgic fans that have been desperate to play singing games on their classic consoles crooning away to the most memorable 80s songs on the NES.  Complete with 8-bit graphics and glorious 8-bit mono sound, including hits from Queen, Lionel Richie and the Human League, fans of the We Sing series can now see how it would look to truly roll back the years.

You can check out 80s enthusiast Jennifer Regan and friends getting to grips with their NES version here:

“There are many nostalgic fans out there who would love to dust off their retro consoles and play singing games – this video gives them a taste of what it would be like,” says Nik Blower, Sales and Marketing Director, Nordic Games. “Music and videogame consoles were the decade’s most memorable exports so marrying the two together would be a match made in heaven.”

We Sing 80s – due for release on October 5, exclusively on Nintendo Wii – is the latest in the hugely successful series of singing games.

The game continues to support up to four players simultaneously with four separate microphones. Party mode includes We Sing, Versus, Group Battle, Pass The Mic, First to X, Marathon, Blind and Expert. There’s also Solo mode, which can also be played in Blind and Expert mode. Karaoke mode strips the track of vocals to really challenge players, or those that fancy an authentic karaoke experience.

Other features include Singing Lessons to help singers fine tune their voices and a Jukebox to queue up songs like their own personal music channel.

In-game awards can be achieved by either single or multiplayer modes, adding further depth and replay value to We Sing 80s. Plus, once a track has been sung, players can replay performances and add cool effects to their voice.

Players can score extra points from hitting hard notes and Player Statistics give a detailed breakdown on performance on notes hit and missed with a comment on your performance at the end.

We Sing 80s is set to be released on the October 5. For more information on We Sing 80s and other Nordic Games titles, please visit www.nordicgames.se.

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Redmond, U.S.A. — “The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses Tour” is coming soon to even more locations across the United States and Canada. Based on one of the most popular and beloved video game series of all time, the tour features live orchestral performances of theme music from Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda franchise. The newly announced dates include:

• Sept. 15: Toronto; Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
• Sept. 22: Minneapolis; Orpheum Theatre
• Oct. 12: Dallas; AT&T Performing Arts Center
• Oct. 18: Boston; Wang Theatre
• Oct. 25: Chicago; The Chicago Theatre
• Nov. 3: San Antonio; The Majestic Theatre
• Nov. 6: Calgary, Alberta; Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
• Nov. 28: New York; The Theater at Madison Square Garden
• Dec. 8: West Palm Beach, Fla.; Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
• Dec. 9: Miami; Adrienne Arsht Center
• Dec.14: San Jose, Calif.; San Jose Civic

In celebration of the tour, the Nintendo World store in Rockefeller Plaza in New York will host a special event on Friday, Sept. 14, from 6-9 p.m. From 6-6:45 p.m., ocarina expert David “Docjazz” Ramos will lead an interactive workshop, introducing fans and newcomers to the history of the instrument. From 7-8 p.m., an intimate mini-concert will be performed, featuring a small musical ensemble. From 8- 9 p.m., attendees can interact with David Ramos and the concert musicians.

Event attendees can also take photos with Link cosplay model Li Kovacs and purchase official “Symphony of the Goddesses” merchandise. The first consumers to enter the event will receive a special concert pack that includes a T-shirt, poster and an ocarina to use during the ocarina workshop.

The name “Symphony of the Goddesses” refers not only to the concert program but also to the new four-movement symphony recounting the classic storylines from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

The concert also will highlight orchestral renditions of music from other series games, including The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening andThe Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. The full orchestra will be conducted by Eímear Noone with arrangements by music director Chad Seiter.

“We are thrilled to bring this unprecedented and exhilarating tour to fans across the U.S. and Canada,” notes Jason Michael Paul, CEO of Jason Michael Paul Productions, which is producing the concert tour. “From children to adults who have followed The Legend of Zelda for decades, the fan base for this concert is growing exponentially, and we are ready to deliver an unforgettable experience.”

Fans can view a complete tour schedule with ticketing information and also sign up for a regularly updated digital newsletter at http://zelda-symphony.com.

Club Nintendo also is offering a discount to the shows—users just need to register at the Club Nintendo site and enjoy an exclusive 15 percent discount by logging into their accounts at http://club.nintendo.com and clicking on the “Symphony of the Goddesses” logo banner. Exclusive concert packs also are available at GameStop locations.

Since first appearing in 1986, The Legend of Zelda game series has sold more than 69 million units worldwide. The latest entries in the series, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for Nintendo 3DS and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Wii console, have both sold more than 1 million copies in North America since launching last year.

Additionally, on Jan. 29, 2013, Nintendo and Dark Horse Books will release Hyrule Historia, a hardback book chronicling the history of The Legend of Zelda series.

Featuring never-before-seen concept art, the full history of Hyrule, the official chronology of the game and insights from developers that have worked on the series, the book is currently available for pre-order via select retailers (deposit may be required for pre-order).

For more information about the concerts, visit http://zelda-symphony.com.

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Nintendo Power, the gaming magazine most likely to give older gamers a blast of nostalgia, is halting publication after 24 memorable years, with its last issue coming to stores in early December, it was announced last week.

The announcement comes five years after Future US, a magazine publishing company responsible for other tech and gaming magazines such as the Official Xbox Magazine and MacLife, took over Nintendo Power. The announcement also reveals an ongoing transition, where videogame magazines are slowly phased out in favor for online gaming news. At this time, however, Nintendo has not expressed interest in continuing the magazine online.

Many of the drawing points of the magazine—most gaming magazines can be found now online. Walkthroughs, previews, leaderboards, lists of release dates, even videogame awards are a click away on the Internet. And, seeing as Nintendo Power was made mainly to hype fans up (what with Nintendo games getting higher reviews than other games and Nintendo games almost always winning Game of the Year), it comes as no surprise that now that more unbiased sources are more readily available the magazine has slowly been loosing its readership.

Still, many are mourning the magazine. After its debut in 1988, the kid-friendly Nintendo Power quickly became for many the sole source of videogame information. The magazine chronicled the early days of the Nintendo Entertainment System, reported on the console wars when the Sega Genesis challenged the Super Nintendo, and served as a bastion for diehard Nintendo fans when gaming shifted from 2D to 3D and the PlayStation was trouncing the Nintendo 64. It covered five gaming generations, from the Nintendo Entertainment System to the Wii, over 24 years and almost 300 issues. Even the New Yorker published an article reminiscing about the magazine.

As the New Yorker notes, gaming has become more and more mainstream over the years. A magazine such as Nintendo Power closing, one that premiered on the scene when gaming was still just for nerds, shows how far gaming has come. Guitar Hero was for a time a favorite activity at parties, and first person shooters are now just as popular.

For better or for worse, gaming is definitely out of its ghetto. While hardcore gamers bemoan the current state of the industry, there is no denying gaming is doing better than ever. And, in a world where information is as readily available as air, where hardcore gamers can effortlessly search for the hardcore games that satisfy their needs, is this really such a bad thing?

As for those who still rely on Nintendo Power for news, refunds will be given for subscriptions that run past December. Although Nintendo Power’s popularity has waned these past years, the warm memories many harbor of it ensure its place in videogame history.

For those now looking for a place to get their gaming news fix, there are still plenty of other sites, like, for example, IGN, Gamespot, or, say, Toonari Post.

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September brings summer to an end and is also the beginning lineup for the big winter game releases. Some classic games make a comeback this month as part of anniversary collections and some heavy hitters make it to the lineup as well.

Action

9/11 Battlefield 3 Premium Edition (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

9/11 Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (PS3, Xbox 360)

9/11 Finding Nemo: Escape to the Big Blue (Nintendo DS, 3DS)

9/16 Kirby’s Dream Collector’s Special Edition (Nintendo Wii)

9/18 Hotel Transylvania (Nintendo DS, 3DS)

9/18 NCIS (3DS)

9/18 Street Fighter 25^th Anniversary Collection (PS3, Xbox 360)

9/18 Borderlands 2 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

9/18 Kinect Sesame Street TV (Xbox 360 Kinect)

9/18 Kinect Nat Geo TV (Xbox 360 Kinect)

9/25 The Testament of Sherlock Holmes (PS3, Xbox 360)

9/25 Thundercats (Nintendo DS)

9/25 Angry Birds Trilogy (Nindendo 3DS, PS3, Xbox 360)

9/25 Puzzler World 2012 3D (Nintendo 3DS)

9/25 Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse (PS3, Xbox 360)

9/25 Dead or Alive 5 (PS3, Xbox 360)

9/25 LittleBigPlanet (PS Vita)

“Battlefield 3 Premium Edition” is the re-release of “Battlefield 3″ with all the gears and whistles. The Premium Edition includes all past expansions to the game as well as the premium pass, which allows the player to download the future expansions that have been announced for the game.

“Tekken Tag Tournament 2″ is Tekken’s way of making a glorified return. With over 50 playable characters, new customizable characters, dozens of levels, and new gameplay features including pair play, retro-arcade tournament battles, and many online features, “Tekken Tag Tournament 2″ is looking to make a comeback to being one of the top fighting games.

“Kirby’s Dream Collector’s Special Edition” is something Nintendo is coming out with for both old and new Kirby fans. This collector’s edition includes six classic Kirby games (Kirby’s Dream Land, Kirby’s Adventure, Kirby’s Dream Land 2, Kirby Super Star, Kirby’s Dream Land 3, and Kirby 64). The collection also includes new challenge stages as well as a copy of the Kirby 20^th Anniversary Soundtrack CD.

“Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Collection” is a must have for the diehard Street Fighter collector. The collection includes 4 games (Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Street Fighter III Third Strike Online Edition, Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition and Street Fighter X Tekken), an 8 inch light up Ryu statue, a full-size Ryu martial arts belt, 64 page art book, 11 disk soundtrack collection, and a blu-ray set including a documentary on making the Street Fighter IV, Street Fighter IV and Super Street Fighter IV animated movies, Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, and the entire Street Fighter anime series. Though this massive Street Fighter collection will have an asking price of $150, it is a must have for the Street Fighter Collector.

“Borderlands 2″ is the highly anticipated sequel to the smash hit “Borderlands.” With “Borderlands 2″, the game offers new classes to choose from, new lands to explore, a new weapon system including new types of weapons and defensive tools, and, probably the biggest plug from the game, guns. Tons and tons of guns. The game really wants to get across to its audience the massive amounts of different guns that the player is able to choose from just like in the first game (which holds the Guinness world record for most guns available in one video game.)

“Dead or Alive 5″ returns with the same cast of characters in a whole new setting. In “DOA 5″, they put a lot of details into the setting and background as means to express more of a visual spectacle. Along with detailed backgrounds, they added a new feature in the details of the characters, wet texturing. As the players fight it out, their characters will sweat and may battle in wet and raining environments, which will cause the characters to get damp hair, wet skin, and semi-translucent clothing.

RPG

9/18 End of Nations Collector’s Edition (PC)

9/18 Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure (Nintendo Wii, 3DS)

9/25 World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (PC)

“World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria” is the latest expansion to “World of Warcraft”. This expansion increases the level cap to 90, introduces the monk as a playable class, the Pandaren as the new playable race (also the first neutral race), and new areas to explore.

Sports

9/11 NHL 13 (PS3, Xbox 360)

9/11 NBA Baller Beats (Xbox 360 Kinect)

9/18 F1 2012 (PS3, Xbox 360)

9/18 Harley Pasternak’s Hollywood Trainer (Xbox 360 Kinect)

9/18 Kinect Sports Ultimate (Xbox 360 Kinect)

9/25 Wipeout 3 (Nintendo Wii, 3DS, Xbox 360)

9/25 Pro Evolution Soccer (Nintendo Wii, 3DS, PS3, Xbox 360)

9/25 FIFA Soccer 13 (PS3 Xbox 360)

“NHL 13″ is looking to be the most realistic hockey game to date. The game system has gotten a completely new overhaul with game mechanics and AI for the most realistic hockey experience. The game also features the updated GM Connected, which allows players to bring total customization to their team by swapping and trading team players to their specifications, and the game also includes NHL Moments Live, which allows players to relive some of the biggest moments in NHL history.

Simulation

9/4 The Sims 3 Supernatural (PC)

“The Sims 3 Supernatural” is the seventh expansion pack in “The Sims 3″. This expansion includes various features from new costumes, new characters like zombies, witches, werewolves, vampires and other monsters, and new jobs like being a fortune teller. The Limited Edition of the game also includes a Plants Versus Zombies expansion, which allows players to buy peashooters to defend their home against the zombie invasion.

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London, U.K. — On August 10, Ubisoft announced that Assassin’s Creed III for PCs will be available in the UK on November 23, 2012.

Set against the backdrop of the American Revolution in the late 18th century, Assassin’s Creed III introduces a new hero, Ratohnhakéton, of Native American and English heritage. Adopting the name Connor, he becomes the new voice for justice in the ancient war between the Assassins and Templars. Players become an Assassin in the war for liberty against ruthless tyranny in the most stylized and fluid combat experiences in the franchise to date.

Assassin’s Creed III is set to release on October 31st for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and will be available for Wii U from Nintendo when the Wii U launches.

Initially launched in 2007, the first four Assassin’s Creed games have sold more than 38 million units worldwide, and the franchise is now established as one of the best-selling series ever. Recognized for having some of the richest, most engrossing storytelling in the industry, Assassin’s Creed transcends video games, branching out into other entertainment experiences including comic books, Facebook games, novels, short films and more.

Assassin’s Creed III can be pre-ordered at UBIShop by visiting: http://shop.ubi.com/assassinscreed3

For more information on Assassin’s Creed, please visit the Assassin’s Creed Official Website (www.assassinscreed.com)

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If you’re looking to snap up New Super Mario Bros. 2 on launch day but can’t make it down to your local video game store, you need not despair, as Nintendo is introducing a new way to buy selected Nintendo games directly from the comfort of your home via Nintendo eShop on your Nintendo 3DS or Nintendo 3DS XL system.

From August 17, the much anticipated New Super Mario Bros. 2, along with the recently launched New Art Academy: Learn New Painting Techniques and Share Your Art and Freakyforms Deluxe Your Creations, Alive! will all make their download debut as they become available for download directly from Nintendo eShop. Many more Nintendo 3DS games are also on the way in the near future, so keep an eye out on Nintendo eShop. Downloading New Super Mario Bros. 2, New Art Academy and Freakyforms Deluxe will allow you to enjoy the same content as the traditional packaged game but as a downloadable version saved onto the SD Card of your Nintendo 3DS or Nintendo 3DS XL system.

As a further incentive to start downloading, each full game purchased from Nintendo eShop will be rewarded with double the normal Stars in your Club Nintendo account. To receive your Stars you must first link your Nintendo 3DS system to your Club Nintendo account and complete the Club Nintendo survey. Visit the Nintendo 3DS Support section of our website to see how to link your account.

So get ready to experience the newest way to purchase Nintendo games as New Super Mario Bros. 2, New Art Academy and Freakyforms Deluxe all become available as digital downloads from Nintendo eShop from August 17 2012. Each game is also available in its traditional packaged form via retail stores.

Image Courtesy of   Barone Firenze / Shutterstock.com

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The summer season for games is not as expansive as the winter releases, but the August game releases include some of the biggest games coming out for the summer season: a new Mario game on the horizon, a sequel to the popular Transformers game, and an introduction to the next Square Enix game Sleeping Dogs. The August game releases show much promise to some exciting games.

Action

8/7 Persona 4 Arena (PS3, Xbox 360)

8/14 Darksiders II (PS3, Xbox 360)

8/14 Sleeping Dogs (PS3, Xbox 360)

8/19 New Super Mario Bros. 2 (Nintendo 3DS)

8/21 Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (PS3, Xbox 360)

8/28 Damage Inc. Pacific Squadron (PS3, Xbox 360)

8/28 Ratchet & Clank Collection (PS3)

8/28 Journey Collector’s Edition (PS3)

Persona 4 Arena is a new take on ATLUS’ most popular game franchise. ATLUS is taking the characters from Persona 4 and putting them into a fighting game. Each character will have special moves and combos based on their focal traits from the RPG, and there will be various levels that will showcase some of the scenes from the RPG. Persona 4 Arena was actually a Japanese Arcade game, but due to the dying arcade franchises in the US, the Arcade game was never released in the States, but instead has been turned into a console game.

Sleeping Dogs is a new game by Square Enix, and with the financial success of Deus Ex and Final Fantasy 13-2, Square Enix is looking to further success with a new franchise. The game focuses on the player playing as an undercover cop in Hong Kong to take on the Triads in a Grand Theft Auto style open-world city. The style garnered high appeal at E3.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 is the continuation of the revamped side-scrolling Mario adventure. This is the 3DS version of the New Super Mario Bros. series, with the console New Super Mario Bros. game to come out for the Wii U later this year. The game  is all about collecting coins, with new powers and game modes which focus entirely on collecting coins. So instead of just going around to collect the most 1-Ups you could possibly get, players must now compete to see who can collect the most coins.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is the sequel to the successful Transformers: War for Cybertron. The game brings in more expansive levels for the game missions and multiplayer maps and also introduces a few new features to the game. The online mode customization is back and more expansive with new transforming abilities and weapons to pick and choose from, and the game also features the ability for players to transform into dinobots.

RPG

8/14 The Last Story (Nintendo Wii)

8/28 Guild Wars 2 (PC)

Guild Wars 2 brings back the popular MMO to the forefront in this new installment. With the human race in decline, different species have starting coming out to the forefront to strive and take over humanity. Guild Wars 2 introduces an in-depth story being told through the game in which every action the player takes leads to changes in future events. The game also includes a new action-oriented combat system to change the combat flow from your typical RPG to a more faced paced combat feel.

With the addition of a Player Vs. Player mode, Guild Wars 2 also has a World Vs. World mode, in which hundreds of players compete for domination over various expansive maps in one large scale battle. The game also does not have a subscription fee in-order to play the game, so once the game has been purchased, the player can jump right in without having to pay for a subscription in order to play the game, as most MMOs require now.

Sports

8/28 Madden NFL 13 (Nintendo Wii, PS3, PS Vita, Xbox 360)

Madden NFL 13 truly seems to be the next generation in sports games. The game features a new physics engine powered by the infinity engine, a massive connected Career network, and Madden Social which adds a more unique experience with challenging against your friends. The game also introduces the Madden Ultimate Team, which allows players to build their own team by using both NFL and fantasy players.

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The following is a list of games that will be released in June of 2012 with their respective dates and console releases. Some featured games looking to release in July 2012 is the new Kingdom Hearts, two Rhythm games, and a few ports of previously released games. As usual, the summer releases are generally slow in the gaming world, but every so often a few gems do come out from the woodwork.

Action

7/3- B-Units: Build It (Nintendo Wii, DS)

7/10- Ice Age Continental Drift Artic Games (PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, DS, 3DS)

7/10- Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure (Nintendo 3DS)

7/17- Heroes of Ruin (Nintendo 3DS)

7/24- Myst (Nintendo 3DS)

7/24- Prototype 2 (PC Port)

7/31- Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance (Nintendo 3DS)

‘Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance’ is another installment to the highly praised Kingdom Hearts series. New features Dream Drop Distance introduces are the option to switch between two protagonists (Sora and Riku), the option to recruit various spirits to fight alongside characters, and the introduction of new worlds to discover. Dream Drop Distance is looking to be a strong addition to the Kingdom Hearts franchise as well as breaching the series onto the 3DS.

RPG

7/3- Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (Nintendo 3DS)

7/31- Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time (Sony PSP)

7/31- The Last Story (Nintendo Wii)

7/31- Risen 2: Dark Waters (PS3, Xbox 360 Ports)

‘Theatrhythm Final Fantasy’ is considered the first Rhythm RPG game. Users play an ‘Elite Beat Agents’ styled rhythm game to the music from the various Final Fantasy series. The users are also given the option of choosing their favorite characters from the different Final Fantasy games as they play through various missions and campaigns.

Sports

7/3- Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends (PS3, Xbox 360)

7/10- NCAA Football 13 (PS3, Xbox 360)

7/24- Mi Coach by Adidas (PS3, Xbox 360)

‘Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends’ is another addition to the Test Drive series, but focuses on Ferraris this time around. With 52 different Ferraris, 36 circuits, and a Campaign mode that takes the gamer through the history of the Ferrari, Test Drive offers a racing game for Ferrari fans and looks to compete with the future racing game releases of Need For Speed Most Wanted and Forza Horizon.

Simulation

7/10- The Sims 3: Diesel Stuff Expansion (PC)

‘The Sims 3: Diesel Stuff’ is another one of the many expansions for The Sims 3 game. For this expansion players are given new clothing accessories and furniture from the company Diesel.

The article July Game Releases for 2012 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

While most fighting games consist of one-on-one matches, health bars and have simple 2D stages for arenas, Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros series does things a bit differently. First appearing on the Nintendo 64 as a slow paced fighting game, its sequels, Melee and Brawl, have increased both the speed of the gameplay and the roster, bringing it from 12 to 35. Up to four characters can duke it out at once, with interactive stages and items, like laser swords and the now iconic sandbag, that can easily change the course of the match. Some do not even consider the series to be a fighting game. Truly, it is one of a kind…

…Until now. Sony recently announced PlayStation All-stars Battle Royale for the PlayStation 3 and Vita, the company’s answer to Nintendo’s acclaimed series. Much like Super Smash Bros, Battle Royale will feature some of Sony’s most well known and console exclusive  characters, including Nathan Drake, Fat Princess, Kratos and PaRappa the Rapper. Big Daddy from Bioshock fame will also appear as a playable character, opening the possibility for other third-party characters to join the mix.

Stages will be more similar to Super Smash Bros than other fighting games. Platforms, conveyor belts and other obstacles will be incorporated, making stages very hectic. Items will also appear on stages, which players can readily use by hitting the R1 button.

Despite all these similarities, though, Sony insists that their game is fundamentally different than Nintendo’s. In the game, players deal out damage to earn power points, which can be saved and then used for devastating super moves. These moves are the only way to defeat other players and earn points, and are thus performing them is the object of the game. The one with the most points at the end of the round is the winner.

Sony’s argument for originality, however, has convinced very few. Many still claim the game is a Super Smash Bros clone and some doubt Sony characters are iconic enough to warrant such a game.

While the way characters are eliminated may be different, pretty much everything else is the same. In the God of War stage shown at E3, Hades is present in the background and occasionally performs an area attack on the stage, similar to Kraid and Arwings in Metroid and Star Fox stages in Super Smash Bros. Super moves themselves are similar to “Final Smash” moves from Super Smash Bros Brawl, which are powerful, character-specific moves that almost ensure the elimination of other players. One difference, though, is that Final Smashes can only be activated by breaking a “Smash Ball” item, which appear and float around stages for a brief amount of time.

At this time, other game modes in PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale, such as a single player mode, have yet to be revealed. However, considering the direction the multiplayer mode is being taken, it is likely that a single-player mode would be reminiscent of the “classic” and “adventure” modes in Super Smash Bros.

In classic mode, players battle against computer controlled characters with mini-games occasionally thrown in, much like in a typical “arcade” mode, while adventure mode focuses more on special stages like mazes where the goal is not to defeat other characters but to reach the end of the stage. Players of Brawl will remember the epic Subspace emissary, an expanded and juiced up version of “adventure” mode complete with its own storyline that takes around a whopping 10 hours to complete.

Although PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale is undeniably and unabashedly a clone of Super Smash Bros, gamers should not automatically turn a blind eye to it. It still will probably be a fun game, and, if nothing else, will tide over hardcore Super Smash Bros players until the next one releases.

PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale is due for launch this fall, just in time for the holidays.

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Following the Nintendo Press Conference on Tuesday, Nintendo offered a web follow up on Wednesday with the Nintendo All-Access 3DS Software Showcase. The 3DS Software Showcase offered some new, and not so new, insight to up and coming games for the 3DS, as well as some features for the Nintendo eStore. Though the showcase was insightful and entertaining, it still felt like Nintendo was holding back some details and they did not produce anything to ‘wow’ anyone. With that out of the way, let us take a look at the hits and misses of Nintendo’s All-Access 3DS Software Showcase.

Hosting the showcase was Nintendo of America’s Executive Vice President in charge of Sales and Marketing, Scott Moffitt. Moffitt opens the night by stating that the “best portable gaming is found on the 3DS console” and goes on to introduce future games to come by starting off with Konami’s Castlevania Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate.

The latest installment of the Castlevania series, Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate is part of the reboot of the Castlevania series. Features introduced for the game were the revival of whip swinging, secondary weapons such as the boomerang, map navigation via the touch screen, and four playable characters which currently include Trevor and Alucard. The gameplay really gives the game a retro feel going back to the original game series along with blending this style with the later games found on the DS. The game was announced to be released in the Fall of 2012.

Warren Spector and Peter Ong introduced Epic Mickey Power of Illusion. The game is its own story with no connection to the previous Epic Mickey title, but is in fact based off the classic Disney game Castle of Illusion (remarked as the best Mickey game to date). The game introduces a team up between Mickey and Oswald along with the ability to paint in object and the ability to erase enemies via the touch pad. The game is scheduled to be released November 16th of this year.

Nate Bihldorff discussed Paper Mario Sticker Star. Like Luigi’s Mansion, much of what was described about the game was mentioned in Nintendo’s previous Press Conference, with an addition of a few new examples. The new Paper Mario game heavily revolves around the new sticker system. Stickers are Mario’s means of attack, from basic attacks to item attacks, they are all sticker based. The RPG element has also been updated, which does not involve attacking enemies to earn XP. This time Mario must earn his health boost and attack boost by completing tasks or by finding hidden passages. The game is scheduled to be released during the holiday season.

Nate also discussed information on the New Super Mario Bros 2. The new Mario Bros game for the 3DS, as detailed in Nintendo’s Press Conference, is heavily coin based. Along with the usual game mode, a special counter has been added which keeps track of Mario’s coin count. This coin counter will play a heavy role in the new challenge mode that has been introduced, Coin Rush.

Coin Rush is a speed run mode with a twist, the twist being that the player must collect as much coins as he can while trying to make record time to add to their coin count. The game also introduces a co-op mode, in which the player and a friend can team up to beat the story. The last announcement is the return of the Tanooki suit and the ability to fly. New Super Mario Bros 2 is scheduled to be released August 19th in store and as a download.

The showcase also announced that the new Pokemon games Black and White 2 will be released on the 3DS. The games will also be able to function with Pokemon Dream Radar and Pokedex 3D Pro (both are exclusive releases through the Nintendo eStore). The release dates for the games have not yet been released.

Besides other third party games, again previously announced, the Showcase went into some new details about what’s new with the Nintendo eStore. The Nintendo eStore is looking to bridge the gap between stores and web purchases, by further expanding their catalog of games available for download and giving people the option of purchasing the game in a store or the option of purchasing a download card.

Overall, it was nice to see some more details about some of the hot games coming out for the 3DS, but a lot of it felt rehashed from the first press conference, with an exception of a few new details for Paper Mario and New Super Mario Bros 2. One game that Nintendo continued to leave out was Animal Crossing for the 3DS, a popular series that has had its share of success was yet again left out of Nintendo’s E3 showcase. In the end, the 3DS showcase was better than the Nintendo Press Conference, but still lacked a lot of game details and surprises that Nintendo really need at E3 this year.

Image Courtesey of  Sklathill

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During Nintendo’s Press Conference at E3 2012, they introduced many new features the Wii U has to offer as well as some of the new games that will be released for the Wii U and the 3DS. Out of the list of games they announced, Nintendo Land seemed to get a lot of air time during the conference.

Taking up the mantle on discussing Nintendo Land was game designer and Manager at Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development (EAD) Katsuya Eguchi (Super Mario Bros 3, Super Mario World, Animal Crossing, Wii Sports). The main thing that Katsuya wanted to get across about Nintendo Land was that like Wii Sports, its main purpose is a fun training tool to help its gamers with how the new Game Pad controller functions. Like Wii Tennis, once the gamer picks up the controller for the first time, they are able to jump right into the game with ease.

Nintendo Land is set up like a theme park, like Universal Studios Theme Park Adventure, in which there is a theme park hub and a series of character-theme based mini games. Nintendo Land is one of the few Nintendo games that creates a shared universe for their characters. With a total of twelve mini games in Nintendo Land, five of them were announced at Nintendo’s E3 Press Conference.

The first game Nintendo announced was Takamaru’s Ninja Castle. This game is a single-player shooting gallery game based on the characters from the Japanese game Nazo no Murasame-jō. The objective of the game is simple. The player uses the Game Pad to shoot shurikens at attacking ninjas. When using the Game Pad to shoot shurikens, if the player tilts or rotates the Pad to adjust the angle of the throw, and the faster the player swipes the shuriken, the further it launches. This is a simple game that shows the user the motion functionality of the Game Pad.

Nintendo then introduced Luigi’s Ghost Mansion. This is a five player survival maze set in the Luigi Mansion universe. The ability to hold up to five players on one console makes this game unique. Four people can play using a Wiimote and one person can use the Game Pad. The objective of the game is to hunt the ghost with flashlights before the time limit runs out or before the ghost takes them out. The four Wiimote players are the humans, and the ghost is controlled by the player using the Game Pad.

The Wiimote users play the game on the T.V. while they hunt for the ghost that they can’t see (the Wiimote vibrates when the player is near the ghost), while the Game Pad user plays the game on the Pad’s screen. This player can see where everyone is and hunt them down one by one. This type of gameplay is what Nintendo advertises as Asymmetric Gameplay, in which the same game is played differently depending on if the players are using the Wiimote or the Game Pad. Luigi’s Ghost Mansion is a very interesting mini game from Nintendo Land because of this Assymetric Gameplay.

Animal Crossing: Sweet Day is a simple collecting game that also involves 5 players. Four Wiimote users run around trying to gather the most candy while the Game Pad user plays as Chasers trying to stop the other players. Other than the Chaser, this game is as simple as it gets, but still entertaining for a basic mini game.

Donkey Kong Crash Course is a single-player cart driving game in which the player tilts the Game Pad to move the cart back and forth as they navigate through a maze resembling levels from Mario vs. Donkey Kong. The objective is fairly basic, collect as many bananas as you can without dying.

The last game that was announced at E3 was The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest. Battle Quest is a three player rail shooter game in which two players using the Wiimotes play as swordsmen while the Game Pad user plays an archer. The game relies heavily on cooperation, the swordsmen take on close range enemies while the archer takes on enemies at a distance, as well as hitting switches that come along the way. The players also share a health bar, so once the five hearts are used up, it’s game over for everyone.

Nintendo Land looks to be a very promising introduction to how the Wii U functions, and with any luck Nintendo Land will come with the Wii U based Wii Sports on the Wii. With seven more games that have yet to be unveiled, Nintendo keeps us waiting for what surprises they have in store for us with Nintendo Land.

Image Courtesey of GDC 

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It’s now six years since the Wii’s arrival in the US market, and Nintendo sees it’s time for change. But their competitors, Sony and Microsoft, already breached the HD field in these past few years and they are now looking into expanding further with their Next Gen systems. Will the Wii U stand the trials ahead, or will Nintendo fall into obscurity?

Before deciding the fate of Nintendo, it’s important to look at what information Nintendo released for their next big push in the home console. At E3 on Tuesday June 5th, Nintendo held their Press Conference, pushing the Wii U as well as some of their title games such as New Super Mario Bros U, Nintendo Land, and Pikmin 3 which will be released along with the system this winter. At the conference, Nintendo also released selected details regarding the Wii U ranging from what fans can expect and to details about the new controller.

One of the first announcements from Nintendo of America’s President and Chief Operating Officer, Reggie Fils-Aime, was the clarification that the Wii U will support two Wii U Game Pads along with four Wii-mote plus, nunchucks, and classic controllers. As for the Game Pad, features included are, a touch screen that can be used with either the player’s fingers or a stylus, four face buttons, dual analog sticks, motion gyroscope, rumble feature, headphone jack, camera, mic, speakers, volume control (used for both the Game Pad and T.V.), and a home button for menu navigation and for the social network.

Other features offered for the Game Pad are access to Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and Amazon Video. The device is also supposed to be able to function as a universal T.V. remote. The biggest feature that is offered for the Game Pad, is the option to play most of Wii U’s games directly on the Game Pad, which gives the option for gamers to play their Wii U games even if the television is occupied.

As for features on the Wii U, the underlying focus of the system is Social Interaction. Upon turning on the Wii U, gamers are dropped into the main hub of their Wii U Menu, which is currently known as Main Street. In the main menu, the gamer’s Miis are dropped in an open environment with Miis from other players all while roaming around in a social network Nintendo calls the Miiverse.

The Miiverse is the peak of Nintendo’s social interaction where gamers can communicate with each other by means of texting or pictochat. The Miiverse also gives gamers the ability to post status updates, high scores,  add game hints to help others through more challenging situations in a particular game (similar to that found in ATLUS’ Demon’s Souls), as well as the option to jump right into a game that has already started. The Miiverse is also announced to be available on the 3DS as well as other mobile devices at a later date.

But the biggest push Nintendo was offering with the Wii U was the Asymmetric gameplay. Since the Wii U gives gamers the option of using the Game Pad or the Wiimotes, this gives gamers the option to have up to five players on the same system (four on the Wiimotes and one on the Game Pad). This was not described much in detail, but continuously brought up, and it became clear by what Nintendo meant with Asymmetric gameplay. In some games, as players use the Wiimotes, the person playing with the Game Pad generally has a special role. In New Super Mario Bros. U, the player with the Game Pad has the option of placing blocks to assist other players or to create obstacles.

In Just Dance 4, the player that uses the Game Pad is known as the Puppet Master, in which during a song, the Game Pad user can pick and choose any dance move he desires to make the Wiimote players do, and even has the option to force the dancers to strike a pose and have them hold it until the Puppet Master decides to choose a different move. This Asymmetric gameplay leaves open new options to future games and can greatly increase the gameplay value of games to come.

With these new updates on the Wii U, the anticipation for its winter release is great, but it is a matter of how its sales do that will be the deciding factor if Nintendo can survive the home console market. The Wii U shows great promise and many gamers continue to anticipate other details that can be expected.

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It has been five years since the last Paper Mario game with Super Paper Mario, a good game but the weakest in the series. In E3 2011, Nintendo announced a new Paper Mario game, simply known as Paper Mario 3DS. But at E3 2012 Nintendo reintroduced Paper Mario 3DS at their press conference giving Paper Mario its official name, Sticker Star. Due to the time constraint of their conference, the audience only got a taste of what was to come from this new Paper Mario game. Yet for those of us willing to sit through another hour of game showcases after Nintendo’s lackluster performance, we got a true sample of what is to come with Paper Mario Sticker Star.

Discussing and giving a play through of the game was Nate Bihldorff, senior localization manager and producer for Nintendo Treehouse (Paper Mario Series, Mario and Luigi series, and Animal Crossing). Nate talks about all the features of the game as he plays through it, showing the audience how the new fighting and RPG system work. The one key point Nate made about the Paper Mario series, is that Paper Mario always tries for something new. But what does Nintendo offer with the next Paper Mario installment?

Stickers! The title says it all, this Paper Mario game is all about collecting stickers, and these stickers are used for everything, from completing tasks to fighting. The combat system for Sticker Star is nothing like the previous three Paper Mario games, in that the player’s only means of attack are through the use of stickers. From basic jumping, to hammer attacks, to item and special attacks, the player must collect different types of in order to attack, or even defend. As for the real time action commands for attacking and defending, they are still there like in the first two Paper Mario games.

Another new feature added is the Battle Spinner. The Battle Spinner functions similarly to the bonus spinner from Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, except the payoff is different. In Sticker Star, the player only has one battle slot to attack with, but when the player is up against multiple enemies at once, the player has the option to invest coins into the Battle Spinner. When the Battle Spinner is activated, a slot machine event pops up, and if the player gets matching images, they can increase their battle slots to gain the ability to use multiple stickers in one turn.

A new mode has also been added simply known as Paperization. In Paperization mode, Mario pops off the screen as it shifts into a isometric plane which Mario can then place stickers he’s earned to complete tasks such as placing flower stickers in a Toad’s garden, or placing a giant fan in the background to move a windmill. Paperization mode is used to complete various tasks and unlocking secrets which gains the players more stickers as well as special stats boost items.

These stat boost items replace the leveling up system as used in the previous Paper Mario games. The RPG element is still in the game but with a different twist. Instead of defeating enemies to earn XP to level up, players must explore different parts of the world to help the townsfolk or to find hidden passages to earn special items such as Health Boosts, Attack Boosts, and Increased Sticker Slots. This leveling up system is a bit of a stretch for many RPG fans, but is a concept that can only be critiqued through experience.

Paper Mario Sticker Star shows much promise and looks to be the true third installment of the Paper Mario series. With a completely new battle system, a new leveling up system, and beautiful design that can really pull off the true potential of the 3DS, Paper Mario Sticker Star looks to be a must have for the system. With the release date bumped back to the Holiday Season, fans anticipating the game must wait longer before they can go sticker crazy with Mario and friends.

Image Courtesy of  1000 Words / Shutterstock.com

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The following is a list of games that will be released in June of 2012 with their respective dates and console releases. The games coming out in June of this year vary from several re-releases to a couple movie tie-in games to some unique original projects which have the potential of becoming some of the hottest games of the year! It will be interesting to see which of these games will last the span of time or fall into the abyss shortly after their release.

Action

6/5- Madagascar 3: The Video Game (Nintendo Wii, DS, 3DS, PS3, Xbox 360)

6/10- Pinkmin 2 Selects (Nintendo Wii)

6/12- 4 in 1 Action Pack (PS3)

6/12- Gravity Rush (PS Vita)

6/12- iCarly: Groovy Foodie (DS)

6/12- Lollipop Chainsaw (PS3, Xbox 360)

6/12- Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection (PS Vita)

6/12- Phantom Breaker (Xbox 360)

6/19- Disney Pixar Brave: The Video Game (PC, Nintendo Wii, DS, PS3, Xbox 360)

6/19- Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Nintendo Wii, DS, 3DS, PS3, PS Vita, Xbox 360)

6/19- Steel Battalion Heavy Armor (Xbox 360 Kinect)

6/26- The Amazing Spider-Man (Nintendo Wii, DS, 3DS, PS3, Xbox 360)

‘Pinkmin 2 Selects’ is a re-re-release of the popular Nintendo classic and is a greatest hits release of the re-release of ‘Pinkmin 2′ for the Wii.

‘Lollipop Chainsaw’ is a new take on the zombie “beat ‘em up” genre, led by SUDA 51. The story, written by James Gunn (Dawn of the Dead), is about Juliet Starling fighting off hoards of zombies at her school, San Romero High, with the living head of her boyfriend. The GameStop pre-order exclusive includes the alternate costume Ashley Williams from the Evil Dead Series.

Just like the PS3 and Xbox 360 release, the ‘Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection’ is a high-definition remake of Metal Gears 2 and 3 for the PS Vita.

‘Lego Batman 2′ is a sequel to the popular Lego Batman game, but this time, players have the opportunity to play as other DC super heroes, as players fight off minions of the Joker and Lex Luthor and, like the other games in the Lego series, players have the option to drop in and out for co-op play.

‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ is a return to the Spider-Man movie tie-in games, and like the movie it is based on, this is going to be an attempt to revive the series after the abysmal failure that was Spider-Man 3 the movie/game as well as the lack luster standalone Spider-Man games.

RPG

6/1- End of Nations (PC)

6/12- Gungnir (PSP)

6/18- Pokemon Conquest (DS)

6/19- Sid Meier’s Civilization V: Gods and Kings Expansion (PC)

6/19- The Secret World (PC)

6/26- Guild Wars 2 (PC)

6/26- Record of Agarest War 2 (PS3)

‘Pokemon Conquest’ takes Pokemon battles and adds a new twist to it. Instead of the turn-based combat in a typical Pokemon game, it now has a tactical RPG combat system, where the player controls his team of Pokemons on a battlefield while defeating other warlords and having them join your party in conquest of the Pokemon Kingdom.

‘The Secret World’ is a very unique MMO that has done something almost no MMO has ever done. ‘The Secret World’ takes place in the modern world and is based on every myth, legend, and conspiracy that exists in this world. Players are thrown into the game with a clean slate. You play the game the way you want; there are no classes or leveling in the game. Players make their own decisions on what their characters will become, and they can choose the abilities that they want. This is definitely one of the more unique MMOs to come out this year.

‘Guild Wars 2′ is the long awaited sequel to the MMO ‘Guild Wars’. ‘Guild Wars 2′ features dynamic events that change as time progresses, and the events the players participate in affect other events in the game. The series also introduces a new, more action-based combat system to bring in more rapid-paced, intense action.

Shooter

6/1- Inversion (PS3, Xbox 360)

6/1- Max Payne 3 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

6/12- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier (PC)

6/26- Spec Ops: The Line (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

‘Max Payne 3′ is the very long awaited sequel to the Max Payne series. The game focuses on a new shooting mechanic for more precision gun play and also revamps the famous bullet time as seen in the original Max Payne series. ‘Max Payne 3′ also features a multiplayer mode that features the combat system and cinematic feel of the single player game and the traditional modes of the average multiplayer mode. ‘Max Payne 3′ is a new perspective on the original Rockstar series for the PS2 and Xbox.

‘Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier’ is a continuation of the Ghost Recon series. There are several different modes in the new Ghost Recon series, such as co-op with up to three other players, PvP mode, and Guerrilla mode (players and teammates fight waves of enemies). The game also introduces Gunsmith mode, in which the player customizes all their weapons for an increase in game customization.

‘Spec Ops: The Line’ is a third person shooter that will attempt to give players a truly brutal war experience. As the player leads their delta squad through the remains of a destroyed Dubai, the players will be thrown into a unique battle zone of sand, sand, and more sand. This detailed focus on the in-game sand mechanics offers a very unique experience in desert combat. Players will be fighting their way through gunfights that take place through intense sandstorms as well as sand avalanches. This is indeed true desert combat at its core.

Sports

6/12- DiRT Showdown (PS3, Xbox360)

6/26- Summer Stars 2012 (Nintendo Wii)

Simulation

6/5- Sims 3 Katy Perry’s Sweet Treats Pack (PC)

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We have already covered various aspects of Nintendo’s peripherals from Nintendo’s Laser Guns to the infamous Power Glove. In part two of Nintendo’s peripherals, we examine devices from the Roll ‘n Rocker to the Wii U’s controller.

The Roll ‘n Rocker

In 1989 the company LJN develops the Roll ‘n Rocker for the NES. The Roll ‘n Rocker is a balance board with a ball on the bottom. The Roll ‘n Rocker works by plugging the NES Controller to the Roll ‘n Rocker. The A, B, and Start buttons are used on the controller while the Roll ‘n Rocker is used as a glorified D-Pad. That is all the Roll ‘n Rocker is good for. With shoddy controls, poor functionality, and only a 100lbs weight limit, the Roll ‘n Rocker is one of the most useless peripherals for the NES.

R.O.B.

Jumping back to 1985, Nintendo introduces the Robotic Operating Buddy (R.O.B.) to Japan and North America. R.O.B is one of Nintendo’s most intriguing inventions even today. R.O.B. is an interactive robo buddy that the user is able to interact with on various games that came out for R.O.B.

The two games that came out for R.O.B. are “Gyromyte” and “Stack-up”. Both games require R.O.B. to do various tasks in order for the user to progress through the game. R.O.B. may be primitive at best, but he functions well. Though there are not too many other games released for R.O.B., he still is a predominant player in the gaming revival back in the videogame saturation of 1983.

Nintendo up to Today

With the many different peripherals on the NES, Nintendo is continuing to focus on new means of gameplay, and a lot of what they have today seem to be variations of their past projects. For the Nintendo 64 (N64) and the Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo tries two different voice recognition gameplay with “Hey You Pikachu” on the N64 and “Odama” on the GameCube.

Though both work better than their Laser Scope counterpart, they both suffer from command issues and are panned greatly for that. As for the Wii Speak, its only function is to communicate with other gamers.

As part of a new focus to get its gamers healthy, Nintendo introduces the Wii Balance board with the Wii Fit. The Wii Balance Board shares a strikingly similar function with the Roll ‘n Rocker, except the Wii Balance Board actually works and offers a lot more features that the Roll n’ Rocker cannot do.

The biggest development to come from Nintendo is the Wiimote (Wii Remote). From what seems like a combination of the NES Zapper and the Power Glove, the Wiimote masters functionality as well as gives gamers a completely unique gaming experience that no other developer is able to offer.

This leads to the possibility that the Power Glove was probably to advanced for its time and also shows that Nintendo had the technology back then, but needed time to perfect it before it could be a viable function as a gaming device.

Currently known as the Wii U Controller, the WiiPad a combination of an iPad with a basic gaming controller. Its style is very similar to the DS’ base and functions just like it. It will be interesting to see how Nintendo’s WiiPad will function once the Wii U officially comes out to the public Winter of 2012. Nintendo has certainly come a long way through the years and still continues to push gaming to the limit in how people play games.

To classics like the Nintendo Zapper, which to this day the only thing the Zapper is not able to shoot is the dog from Duck Hunt, and the abysmal failures of the Roll ‘n Rocker, which only accomplished making games unplayable, Nintendo stood up to their mistakes and flaunted their triumphs. It will be interesting to see what others successes and possible failures Nintendo will come up with in their future of video game peripherals.

Image Courtesy of   Barone Firenze / Shutterstock.com

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The Nintendo Company is known for experimenting with different means of gameplay and coming up with the next big thing in interactive gameplay. With so many different types of games to choose from, Nintendo wants to introduce to gamers many different ways to play these games. What better way to examine Nintendo’s methods of gameplay than to look into its evolution from the experimental phase of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) to the more professionally established peripherals of Nintendo’s later systems.

Nintendo Laser Guns

One of the Nintendo’s first peripherals, and probably most famous one, was the NES Zapper. The NES Zapper came out in 1985 with “Duck Hunt”, but could also work on various games that used the shooting gallery type function. The way the Zapper works is when the user pulls the trigger on the Zapper, it causes the entire screen to go black for a split second, except for the target area, which flashes white. By doing this, the sensor in the gun reads the white area and if a shootable object is caught in the white block, it would register as a hit.

Back in the day it was seen as a marvelous technical advancement, and even today the game Duck Hunt is still seen as a must-play classic with the NES Zapper, though the Zapper’s function can only work on CRT display TVs and cannot work on LCD or Plasma TVs.

In 1992 Nintendo came out with the Super Scope for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The Super Scope is about twice as large as the NES Zapper and functions a little differently by shooting out an ’0′ signal as it reads the various 1’s and 0’s that shoot through the TV signals. With this, the game retrieves the data to acknowledge the target position of the Super Scope and is then able to register a hit or a miss. But like the Zapper, the Super Scope can only work on CRT display TVs.

The Laser Scope, developed by Konami for the NES, is a device that the player wears like a headset. The Laser Scope is one of the first peripherals that introduces voice activated commands for gameplay. The Laser Scope includes a laser guided crosshair, which sits just above the user’s right eye, and a microphone attached to the left earphone.

The laser crosshair works just like the NES Zapper, but instead of pulling a trigger, the user merely has to say “Fire.” The issue with the Laser Scope is that it picks up any sound and causes the device to misfire. The device is big, clunky, and does not function the way it is intended to work. The Laser Scope came out in 1990 with the game Laser Invasion.

The Power Glove

In pop culture the Power Glove is seen at the butt of many jokes as well as a popular internet meme. As most of its critics discuss the Power Glove, they always refer back to the 1989 movie “The Wizard” and deliberately misquote the line “It’s so bad” when referring to the Power Glove, mainly because the Power Glove is in fact “so bad.”

Licensed by Nintendo, but developed by Abrams Gentile Entertainment, the Power Glove is intended to be one of the first interactive motion sensor games, in which the user’s hand was the controller. The Power Gloves works by having the user enter an input code found on the forearm of the controller.

This code is used to set the control system to designated games. Once the controller is “linked” to the game, the user’s hand movements are registered for gameplay. One of the games designed specifically for the Power Glove is “Super Glove Ball,” in which the user throws balls to destroy walls.

The Power Glove itself became an utter failure. The controls are unresponsive and it is almost impossible to get the device to function properly. Power Glove, now, is merely used as a glorified NES controller, since the controller buttons are also built on the forearm.

Part two will continue on Nintendo’s development from the Roll ‘n Rocker to the Wii U’s controller system.

Image Courtesy of   Barone Firenze / Shutterstock.com

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Nintendo recently posted a net loss of 43.2bn yen (530 million dollars) for the 2011 fiscal year (which stretches from April 2011 to March 2012), a first for the company. These losses were in spite of their newly released 3DS handheld console dominating the Japanese market, outselling Sony’s PlayStation Vita 10:1. Last year the company reported a net gain of 77.6bn yen (959 million dollars). The companies’ losses this year were not, however, as bad as previous estimates had predicted.

Hardware sales were not able to reach predictions Nintendo announced three months ago, predictions Nintendo had reworked downward from previous estimates. Globally, the Nintendo 3DS sold 13.51 million units, the Wii 9.84 and the DS ‘family’ 5.1, while expectations had had the 3DS at 14 million units, the Wii at 10 and the DS ‘family’ at 5.5. Even though actual hardware sales did not fall too far from what Nintendo had predicted, the results are still disastrous for the company. Software sales, meanwhile, were 36 million for the 3DS, 102.37 million for the Wii, and 60.82 for the DS ‘family.’

Regarding these results, the company stated: “While [Nintendo] did post a loss for the recently completed fiscal year, the continuing momentum of the Nintendo 3DS and the global introduction of the highly-anticipated Wii U home console will drive the company back into profitability in the current year.” In a separate announcement, Nintendo predicted a net profit of $245 million for the upcoming fiscal year.

Nintendo went on to say that by the middle of its current fiscal year (around August 2012), the 3DS will cease to be sold below cost of making one, meaning they will start to see a profit from the handheld. The company also announced that New Super Mario Bros. 2, Animal Crossing and a new Brain Age series title are in the works, with the latter releasing in Japan sometime this summer. These games, along with other upcoming ones, will definitely give Nintendo a boost in software sales and help move consoles.

In addition, Dragon Quest X: Waking of the Five Tribes Online was reported to have a Japanese release date set for August 2. No release date for other regions has been announced yet. The title marks a first for the Dragon Quest franchise: never before has an MMORPG entry in the series been released. A Wii U version will follow, although at this time there is no information on it available.

Dragon Quest X is set to sell for 6,980 yen ($86), and a separate version will also be available that includes a USB flash drive for 8,980 yen ($110). A flash drive is required to play the game.

Although details are scarce, these big games look to get Nintendo out of the red this coming year and hopefully help the company reach its $245 million goal. Stay tuned at Toonari Post for more details.

Image Courtesy of   Barone Firenze / Shutterstock.com

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London, UK – Moshi Monsters’ debut video game Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo has become the longest ever number one in Nintendo DS chart history by knocking Nintendo’s Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training from the top spot.

Launched just six months ago in November 2011, Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo has made video game history by holding the top position for a record breaking 15 consecutive weeks.

The game has fought off stiff competition from Nintendo classics such as Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros, Professor Layton And The Spectre’s Call and Pokémon Black Version.

“This is the first video game we’ve ever published at Mind Candy so we’re delighted and amazed by how well it has done. We’re lucky to have such a passionate fanbase of Moshi players” said Michael Acton Smith, creator and CEO of Moshi Monsters.

Developed by well-renowned US based gaming developer, Black Lantern and published by Activision Publishing, Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo offers fans a fresh new take on the Moshi Universe by building on the popularity of the collectable ”Moshlings” (pets for your pet monsters), and  provides a new way to interact with their favorite characters.

The game features new locations and an exclusive new Moshling - Nipper the Titchy Trundlebot. From the common to the rare, there are 52 Moshlings to collect including the elusive ‘ULTRA-RARE’ – find them if you can! Children can also play new mini-games, educational style puzzles, as well as win awards and trophies to take back to their zoo.

The monster success isn’t just confined to the video game charts – the recently released debut music album, Moshi Monsters: Music Rox!, reached number four in the Official Music Charts this month ahead of Madonna and Jessie J with no TV or promotional airplay.

Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo is available now on Nintendo DS priced £29.99 (RRP) from GAME, Tesco, ASDA, Argos, Sainsbury’s, Smiths, Amazon and Play.com. The game has been classified PEGI 3, which means suitable for all.  For more information please visit http://www.moshlingzoo.com or http://www.Activision.com.

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Historically, Nintendo’s GameBoy consoles have always defined the handheld gaming experience. Intermittent efforts from Sega and Sony over the years have been unable to unseat Nintendo as the king of handhelds.

According to the latest sales figures from Sony, the PS Vita has surpassed 1.2 million units sold worldwide, despite an unenthusiastic reception in Sony’s home country of Japan.

In Europe, first week sales of the PS Vita outsold Nintendo’s new handheld console, the 3DS. In the United States and Japan, however, first-week sales figures for the Vita lagged behind other handheld gaming consoles of the current and previous generations.

The 3DS sold seven times as many units as the PS Vita worldwide last week. 3DS games have also sold well, making up 7 of the top 10 best-selling games of the previous week.

Nintendo’s perennial success with handhelds has had a massive effect on the platform as a whole. Of the top five best-selling handheld consoles of all time, four of them are made by Nintendo. Gamers who play handhelds have come to expect a certain experience, and this experience has been almost entirely defined by Nintendo’s vision.

The PS Vita also has its own strong vision for itself. It is meant to be the home console experience in your hands, with a large, high-definition screen and graphics comparable to the home experience. And this, possibly, is where it went wrong: It’s stepping on too many toes at once.

For the cost of a PS Vita (about $300 USD), you could buy an actual home console. And because the Vita requires a memory card made by Sony, that only works with the Vita, for an addition $100, you could probably find a Nintendo DS on the cheap for that price as well.

Handheld gamers do not expect, and quite possibly are not even enticed by, the ability to play home console games on a handheld system. The most popular handheld games by far are iOS games, which are often quick, shallow, and addictive. Even GameBoy and DS games are largely episodic, with frequent opportunities to quit and come back later.

Console games, on the other hand, are meant for prolonged play. To try to fit a full console experience into an intrinsically stop-and-go format is at worst a misjudgement of the nature and appeal of the platform.

At best, it suits a very particular, perhaps European, demographic. If you do not have the space in your apartment for a home entertainment system, and use trains or busses more often than a car to get from place to place, being able to experience console gaming in a handheld format could have appeal.

Taking into consideration, however, that the largest gaming markets are in the United States and Japan, the Vita seems poorly thought through. For now, gamers who want a home console experience still prefer to play on an actual home console. Add to that the exorbitant price tag of the Vita, its aesthetically unimpressive OS, and the additional hidden cost of a proprietary memory stick, and the Vita seems to be stepping on its own toes as well.

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The ‘Tales of’ series is considered one of the three RPG giants in Japan, along with Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Here in the States and Europe, though, it is a different story. Some may remember ‘Tales of Symphonia’ for the Gamecube, the most hyped ‘Tales of’ game this side of the earth, but other than that, there has been little else.

Few of the games have been translated, and many of those that have suffer either from bad localization or bad voice acting. ‘Tales of the Abyss 3DS’ does not have these problems. Instead, its main problem is the fact that it is six years old, having been released for the PS2 both in Japan and America, and this version is less of an update, than a simple port.

While parts of it may seem stale, on the whole, it is a fulfilling journey. Luckily, nothing that was present in the older version has been cut for this one, not even voice acting. The gameplay is that of a typical Japanese RPG, with a world map to explore. There are no random battles here; enemies are visible on the screen, and the player can avoid battles if they wish (or are fast enough to avoid contact).

Battles, though, are where the game really shines. The player and three other AI-controlled players move around in real time on a 3D battlefield. Although the player can issue them commands if they want, the AI is good enough that players need not focus their attention on what others are doing all the time.

Those that were frustrated in ‘Tales of Symphonia’, because they had to stay in a straight line and were not free to roam the battlefield, will find comfort here. At the press of a button, players can run around any which way they want in the area. Attacks and blocks are controlled by the face buttons.

The graphics have suffered a bit in the transition from PS2 to 3DS. The world map, which looked bad enough on the television, is even worse now, and characters and environments are jagged. The game also was clearly not meant for the 3DS, as the 3D feature seems more distracting than anything else while playing.

The story is what one would expect from a ‘Tales of’ game. It is formulaic, and at times silly, with some plot twists being obvious way before they are revealed, but it is enough to keep the player interested. Spoiled brat Luke Fon Fabre, a young man who suffers from the ultimate cliché, amnesia, finds himself outside the comforts of his aristocratic household with a mysterious woman. Along the way, others join the party as they begin to realize they are the only ones who can save the world.

Overall, the game is fun, but with over 45 hours of main story gameplay, it drags a lot. If you have played the original PS2 version, you may want to stay away, as there is nothing new to entice a buy.  If you have not, give it a try, but be warned it is dated in some areas.

8/10

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Nintendo sold 3.61 million 3DS’ in its previous quarter. Since then, sales have dropped to 710,000 units in the last three months. Profits have also declined from lack of sales for other Nintendo products. The company lost 25.5 billion yen in the last 3 months ending June 30. They also had to lower profit and sales forecast by 82 Percent and 18 Percent, respectively.

Hearing news of this, Nintendo slashed the price for its latest innovation, the Nintendo 3DS, to $169.99 from its original price of $249.99 — a 30 percent drop. Price will come into effect as of August 12, making for a successful holiday season for Nintendo.

This was not the first price cut they made this year. Due to a drop in sales earlier this year, the Nintendo Wii also went down in price, from $200 to $150 on May 15. In the eyes of the consumer, spending $249.99 on a handheld system is no bargain, when a Nintendo Wii system costs $100 less.

What does this mean for the majority of consumers who have already purchased a Nintendo 3DS?  According to Nintendo, loyal customers will receive 20 free downloadable games from the Nintendo eShop. For 10 of those games, Nintendo has no intention of selling them in the future and they are redesigned exclusively for this purpose. Games included on that list are: Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Metroid Fusion, WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames and Mario vs. Donkey Kong, all originally from Nintendo’s Gameboy Advance console. Starting September 1, those members will also have access to 10 new games before they become available to the public. Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong Jr., Balloon Fight, Ice Climber and The Legend of Zelda are some of the games featured on that list.

Another way Nintendo is trying to boost sales and profit is by releasing remakes of Nintendo classics such as Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Mario Kart, Starfox 64 and Kid Icarus.

They are hoping that its features will be enough to sell the product as well, with its access to Netflix, they are calling it a must have. In addition, the Nintendo Video service provides access to all sorts of 3D video viewing. Finally, Users have access to the Nintendo eShop, where they can purchase downloadable games, view game trailers and have access to product information.

Satoru Iwata, the president and CEO of Nintendo, is taking full responsibility for their losses, which has led him to voluntarily cut his $2 million pay check by 50 percent. He is not the only one taking a pay cut. Other representative directors are taking a 30% pay cut, and executives are deducting 20 percent from their salary. These will be very favorable moves for shareholders.

Nintendo is in the process of working on a new project, Wii U, which is expected to launch next year. In an interview, Iwata says that this new project will not be cheap and sell for about $250. Due to the company’s sacrifices and innovations, Nintendo expects to see an increase in its profits.

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March 31 ends the fiscal year for Japan and the pressure is building on Prime Minster Naoto Kan and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) as they prepare to press their budget plan for the next year through the Diet – the Japanese parliament.

Japan is facing multiple economic challenges that each threatens to hamper the countries national economy as well as trade. Politically, the situation is equally unsettling as the government is up against a phenomenon known as a ‘twisted Diet’ – a term describing the situation where the Upper and Lower houses are controlled by opposing sides. The ruling coalition headed by PM Kan lost its Upper House majority in July’s election and since the Upper House cannot be dissolved, Mr. Kan will have a difficult time passing bills for the upcoming budgetary plan.

Among the financial concerns of the nation is trade. After a surprisingly stable trading market during the last two years, the Japanese Ministry of Finance revealed a gloomy trade deficit this February. Paradoxically, large cooperations such as Toyota, Honda and Nintendo were actually recovering quickly on top of the global financial crises but what threatens to derail the process is now the unusually strong yen. Toyota reported a drop of 39% in profits from the last quarter, Honda had an equal drop of 40% while Nintendo, which generates up to 80% of its revenue abroad, claim to have a 75% decrease in profits between April and December 2010. Much of the blame is directed at the record high exchange rate for the Yen, currently at its highest in fifteen years.

This has put a damper on the country’s export as the expensive yen on one hand stifle the price-competitiveness of Japanese product and on the other, eats up the profit in the process of converting from foreign currency into Japan’s national monetary standard. Larger cooperations are responding to the situation by moving capital and production out of Japan – Toyota has already started to produce their popular hybrid car Prius in Thailand.

Another grave concern is the public debt burden which is estimated to be about twice the size of gross domestic product. Mr. Kan is planning to reduce the debt by reorganizing the national finances, raise taxes and scrap the DPJ’s pledge of doubling childcare handouts to household. But the Kan administration’s budget is being met with strong opposition by economists. “The government barely scraped by getting revenue to match spending” said Hiroshi Miyazaki, chief economist at Tokyo-based Shinkin Asset Management, to Bloomberg. The budget “doesn’t work to improve the state of public finances but it doesn’t do anything to spur the economy either.” A strategist at Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co. also said to Bloomberg “What’s most problematic is that there is almost no visible clue to how Japan will consolidate its finances”.

Several commentators predict that the biggest focus in the coming time will be not on the content of the budget, but how the DPJ expect to get it through the Diet. PM Kan has seen his popularity dwindle in the last six months but is resisting claims that he will join his four predecessors of the last four years in what is called the ‘revolving door’ of Japanese politics. He wants to bring reform but it is uncertain if his goals will be fulfilled – and if so, if it will be on the expense of Mr. Kan’s position. The end of the fiscal year will show if this is the beginning of the end for the DPJ or the start of a fundamental restructuring of the Japanese market and political climate.

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At first glance, Microsoft looks like the software behemoth that most of us have grown accustomed to just love hating. Look a little deeper and you’ll discover that not only has Microsoft changed the dynamics of the gaming world, its actively shaping the future of the industry as whole.

The story of how Microsoft was able to enter an industry dominated by Nintendo and Sony is quite a long and interesting one.

At first it was Bill Gates announcing the coming of the first Microsoft gaming console. On November 15, 2001, the original Xbox is launched along with their online platform Xbox Live, offering a vision of online gaming that was then unrivaled by its competitors.

To its credit, Microsoft realized the looming potential that home gaming consoles had vis-à-vis the online gaming world. What they did with Xbox Live was nothing short of banging open a truly fresh market for both large game developing companies as well as their smaller indie counterparts. The floodgates were then open. Today, Nintendo is scrambling to find a way into online gaming while the former generations’ market leader Sony plays catch up with its own PlayStation Network. The growth of the Xbox Live service is also showing no signs of abating, recording a 16% increase in revenue in 2010.

Microsoft is now upping its game (quite literally) in a big way with its newest entrant, Kinect.

Kinect is basically a very smart device that detects your motion and allows you to interact with your Xbox 360 without a controller. Although the peripheral received a wave of initial criticism –due to issues of lag and appeal to solely casual gamers – the numbers spoke of a different story. Kinect went on to sell 8 million units in just its first 60 days on the market. What is really mind blowing is the interest that the peripheral is generating amongst hackers wanting to manipulate the technology behind it. A team at MIT’s Media Lab fine-tuning a hologram video marks one of the more recent hacks involving Kinect. Check the top 12 Kinect hacks here.

Microsoft of course is probably reveling in on all the seemingly newfound popularity. So much in fact that they have been able to work it in their favor. Instead of pursuing litigation against individuals hacking its hugely successful new product, Microsoft is instead supporting them. In fact they are working on launching a developers kit to assist those hackers with their endeavors.

The reason why Kinect will continue to be a huge success revolves around the software used to operate the device, the “brain”. This allows Microsoft to remotely update Kinect’s mental prowess and adapt it to more complicated commands and environments.

In short, Nintendo might have introduced the first instance of motion control gaming to the mainstream, however the future seems to holding its fruits in Microsoft’s favor. If Microsoft’s achievements to date in the gaming world hints at anything, it is that they will continue to expand the market as whole, and may I dare to say yes, even dominate it.

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