Mario’s first adventure on the new Wii U console, New Super Mario Bros. U, launches November 30. In addition to all the side-scrolling fun that Mario is known for, the game includes a number of special modes and features that will make players want to jump in again and again.

Challenge Mode: Challenge Mode tasks players with completing specific objectives, such as clearing a course without obtaining a single coin or touching the ground. There are four single-player Challenge categories: Time Attack, Coin Collection, 1-Up Rally and Special (miscellaneous challenges). Boost Mode Challenges require two players. Once players complete a Challenge, the game saves a replay of the action so players can show off their accomplishments.

Coin Battle: Up to four players run through a course and compete to see who can collect the most coins. Another player can also use the Wii U GamePad in Boost Mode to place Boost Blocks to help grab hard-to-reach coins. Players can also use the GamePad to edit and customise the coin layout in dedicated courses. The coin layout can then be saved and played by the players using Wii Remote controllers.

World Map: New Super Mario Bros. U is the first side-scrolling Mario game since 1992’s Super Mario World that features a seamless world map with named worlds and courses. The map contains many secret exits, which might change the map and cause shortcuts to appear. The worlds are interconnected, so people can play through the game in a nonlinear fashion.

Nabbit: From time to time, a creature named Nabbit will appear on the world map. Players must enter the course and catch the speedy Nabbit to recover items stolen from Toad. If Nabbit is nabbed, players receive a powerful P-Acorn, which will allow them to fly continuously through an entire stage. The only way to obtain a P-Acorn is to catch Nabbit.

For more information about New Super Mario Bros. U, stay tuned to WiiU.co.uk in the run-up to the European launch on November 30.

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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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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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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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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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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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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)

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

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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March has a lot of huge video game releases, namely Mass Effect 3, MLB 12: The Show, Street Fighter X Tekken, Ninja Gaiden 3, Mario Party 9, and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City. There are also a few releases that will not make a huge splash, but will be eagerly received by fans of their respective series.

Examples are Silent Hill HD Collection, The Sims 3 Plus Showtime, FIFA Street, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations, Silent Hill: Downpour, Tales of Graces f, Yakuza: Dead Souls, Rayman 3 HD & Warriors Orochi 3. There are also some big digital release-only games that gamers should look for, such as I Am Alive (which is XBLA only for now, but there will be a PSN release later) and Journey, a PSN exclusive. If you want to check out the full list of March releases look no further than the list below.

Note: These are North American release dates ONLY, so if you live outside of North America you will have to double check as the release date may be different in your region.

CONSOLE AND PC

1-Mar

• Deep Black: Reloaded – PC
• Vessel – PC

6-Mar

• Major League Baseball 2K12 – PS3, 360, Wii, PC
• Mass Effect 3 – PS3, 360, PC
• miCoach – PS3, 360
• MLB 12: The Show – PS3
• MLB 2K12/NBA 2K12 Combo Pack – 360
• Silent Hill HD Collection – PS3, 360
• Street Fighter X Tekken – PS3, 360
• Top Gun: Hard Lock – PS3, 360, PC
• Ridge Racer Unbounded – PC
• The Sims 3 Plus Showtime – PC
• XCOM – PC

7-Mar

• I Am Alive – 360

11-Mar

• Mario Party 9 – Wii

13-Mar

• FIFA Street – PS3, 360
• Journey – PS3
• Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations – PS3, 360
• Shoot Many Robots – PS3
• Silent Hill: Downpour – PS3, 360
• Tales of Graces f – PS3
• Yakuza: Dead Souls – PS3
• Warp – PC
• Sledge Hammer – 360

14-Mar

• Warp – PS3
• Shoot Many Robots – 360

20-Mar

• Armored Core V – PS3, 360
• Ninja Gaiden 3 – PS3, 360
• Rayman 3 HD – PS3
• Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City – PS3, 360
• Warriors Orochi 3 – PS3, 360
• Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure – 360

21-Mar

• Rayman 3 HD – 360

23-Mar

• The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav – PC
• Total War: Shogun 2 – Fall of the Samurai – PC

27-Mar

• Combat Wings: The Great Battles of WWII – PS3, 360
• Ridge Racer Unbounded – PS3, 360
• Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends – PS3, 360
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 – PS3, 360
• Capcom Digital Collection – 360

29-Mar

• Rayman Origins – PC

31-Mar

• Birds of Steel – PS3, 360
• Blades of Time – PS3, 360
• Sorcery – PS3

HANDHELDS

6-Mar

• CRUSH3D – 3DS
• NCIS 3D – 3DS
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 – PSV
• MLB 12: The Show – PSV
• Unit 13 – PSV

7-Mar

• 50 Classic Games – 3DS

13-Mar

• Planet Crashers 3D – 3DS
• Supremacy MMA: Unrestricted – PSV

20-Mar

• Rayman Origins – 3DS
• Ridge Racer – PSV

23-Mar

• Kid Icarus: Uprising – 3DS

27-Mar

• Alien Chaos 3D – 3DS
• Boulder Dash-XL 3D – 3DS
• Funky Barn 3D – 3DS
• Reality Fighters – PSV
• Silent Hill: Book of Memories – PSV

31-Mar

• Deer Drive Legends 3D – 3DS

Image Courtesy of    http://teamninja-studio.com

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With titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, and Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim recently dropping this past week, shoppers may have their hands full. But let’s not forget November 15th, the day when several games on multiple consoles release all at once. The rest of the season seems pretty minor in terms of releases, so fans should take note of these next few titles that are anything but small potatoes.

The fall season appears to be the sweet spot for many game releases. The oncoming holiday season makes it a perfect time to start packing store shelves with games and strategy guides from here to the moon. A veritable gamer’s paradise as far as release titles are concerned, as well as a bit of a headache for anyone shopping with a gaming fan.

Below is a small collection, across multiple consoles, of the biggest games still being released this week that will make fans think twice about their wallets and their time.

Fighters will certainly gravitate to Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 (November 15). A long-awaited title, this new edition of Marvel Vs Capcom is a fabulous fighter with an enormous range of characters and playing styles that compliment to original Marvel Vs Capcom 3 release back in February of this year.

Similarly, shooters will definitely want to pick up Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (November 15). The new Combat Evolved title is a remake of 2001′s Halo: Combat Evolved. Developer 343 Industries is new to the series, taking over where Bungie left off. Combat Evolved will be the first Halo game to include Kinect support and should give fans a clear indication of the style and direction of 343 Industries.

Not to be left out, Need for Speed: The Run (November 15) is also coming out. Running counter to the simulation style of Shift 2 Unleashed or Forza Motorsport 4 this racer’s storyline influence changes the classic arcade racer into a linear race themed movie blazing across the continental United States.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (November 15) is the final chapter in the trilogy of Ezio Auditore Da Firenze, an Assassin of the highest caliber. Famed for its huge maps, involving storyline and action intense gameplay, this newest iteration of Assassins Creed seems like a must buy for fans of the Assassin Genre.

For more on Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, check back for our review later in the week on what promises to be an excellent title. PC fans will have to wait longer because Assassins Creed: Revelations is slated for PC release on November 29.

Players unfamiliar with Saints Row: The Third (November 15) will find a game set in the open world sand box style, fictional city of Steelport. The Saints Row Franchise has been compared to Grand Theft Auto before but this game is a different take on a similar format.  Developer Volition Inc. achieves this different gameplay feel using equal parts silly good fun and raunchy mayhem all at the same time.

As if that weren’t enough,(November 15th )gets yet another full featured title for release with Rayman: Origins. Younger players will love this side-scrolling platforming game for its bright colors and rare beauty, while older players will remember their first Rayman game and rejoice in the return of its excellence thanks to developer Ubisoft.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (November 20)has received its fair share of marketing with commercial spots appearing on select TV channels. This Zelda title for the Nintendo Wii is believed by many to be the crowning achievement and is a prequel for the entire series, beginning before Ocarina of Time.

Batman: Arkham City has already been released, but PC fans will have had to wait until November 22. Having received critical acclaim from players and reviewers alike, this iteration of Batman was as well received as its Arkham Asylum predecessor. As with games such as Assassins Creed Batman: Arkham City is also an open world action game, a popular and time tested format these days.

Star War: The Old Republic (December 20), the MMORPG for PC will likely also make a great showing, maintaining a strong fan base despite the late release date. Just days before Christmas, its players will no doubt enjoy a lengthy vacation or at least some time off to play with other friends and family.

This wraps up our look at some of the titles still to be released in the coming weeks. With such fantastic games featured for each genre of gaming, fans will be hard pressed to pick one over the other.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.callofduty.com

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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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With the mass popularity of smartphone devices, nowadays, there is an ever increasing amount of the population with near-constant access to a very powerful, highly refined piece of technology. It’s not as if the basic idea behind the communication aspect of cell-phones is evolving much. People are simply finding more and more that having a powerful device with them at all times can be quite convenient.

Especially, it turns out, for the sake of mobile gaming, a relatively recent statistic published at Flurry.com (a mobile application marketing and analytics company) has revealed.

Revealed in the same blog entry is the fact that there are an estimated 250 million iOS and Android devices around the world, compared “to the 180 million Wiis, Xbox 360s and PlayStation 3s currently on the market.” Given this sort of information, what does this say about who “gamer” is now personified by? To have access to a seemingly endless number of games, one no longer needs to purchase a dedicated gaming machine (e.g. Xbox 360, Wii, Playstation 3, etc.).

Gaming is now a secondary function to a device that many individuals in the Western world clarify as a necessity. Yet, as Flurry.com’s study has shown, people are using their smartphones more and more frequently to game, with as many as 37% of the apps launched by smartphone users being games.

John Carmack, a long-time veteran of game development, recently stated that he believes smartphone devices will soon be “more powerful than the current-gen consoles.” At that point, when games like the ones we now play on consoles can be played on a phone, how will one distinguish “gamer” as a hobby? You may have heard some disambiguation with terms like “hardcore gamer” and “casual gamer” being thrown around, with the latter having a greater inclination toward mobile gaming. But these are also misleading.

What isn’t “casual” about only spending three or four hours a week playing games on an Xbox 360, and what isn’t “hardcore” about those who check up on their iPhones every ten minutes to play a few minutes of a game they’re currently invested in?

Perhaps the next few years will manage to distinguish these two very different types of enthusiasts, as differences in hardware become reduced on the respective gaming platforms, and the decision of gaming software becomes the clarifying criteria.

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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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