While Americans get news that they have to wait until May 12, Nintendo of Japan is priming up their audience for upcoming Wii Ware releases later this month. Recently, Nintendo launched a page listing some of the titles announced along with some screenshots. A fair amount of second and third-party support is a welcome sight to continue Nintendo's diverse download offerings.
The current titles announced include:
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King
StarSoldierR
Word Puzzle Mojipittan Wii
Everyone's Pokémon Ranch
Dr. Mario's Virus Buster
Marubou Shikaku
Magnetica (Puzzloop)
Bomberman
Okiraku Ping-Pong Wii
Angel's Solitaire
Joysound Wii
There are a notable amount of previously announced titles missing from the current list, but it is expected that we'll see those as well as others on the Wii Ware service in the future. Judging by the screenshots we can expect to see a mix of single player and multiplayer games that appeal to a diverse audience.
Nintendo strikes back at modders! Piracy with the R4-Revolution for DS system has been running rampant, with surprisingly weak legal barriers to stop it. While it isn't necessarily advertised, the R4 system has been a large contributor to DS piracy in certain countries. Outside Japan it has become a hot import item due to ease of use. The user simply plugs it in and turns on the DS, without the need for any hacks or mods.
Enter Nintendo's alternative, the DSvision. The hardware components seems nearly identical, consisting of a microSD card reader for the DS, a microSD card, and a microSD card to USB 2.0 adapter for PC. The difference is that the DSvision parts are all proprietary, with built in copyright protection.
The manufacturing of the DSvision system is being handled by AM3 and Dai Nippon Publishing, with an expected shipment date in March 2008. A web site to host content is also proposed; offering pictures, movies, and digital novels and comics both for purchase and for free. The site is expected to host 300 titles at launch, and expand to over 10,000 titles by 2010. Each title will sell for around 1000¥ (US$10). The kit itself will cost 3980¥ (US$37), and will include a 512MB microSD card. It appears that this too may shape up to be a hot import item. Combined with the TV tuner and web browser, the DS is shaping up to be a big portable media machine after all.
Remember Excite Truck, and all those zippy new Wii racing games where you have to tilt the Wii remote to steer the vehicle? If that made you feel uncomfortable, you do have the alternative of riding a fiberglass pony instead.
Now live on Japanese Wiis, the new "Everyone's Nintendo Channel" is a way of telling Wii owners about new software. A complete software listing, trailers, and demos will be available for games seeing an imminent release and those that are already on the market.
Searching for a title seems much like our own database as you can sort results by hardware, manufacturer, genre, or title. One of the caveats of the system is that you can provide feedback of games you have already tried out and it will recommend others based on your interests and the recommendations of others. Like the "Everyone Votes Channel" it might not take off right away because it has to collect information before it becomes fully active. The results are scheduled for release by the end of December.
The big winner of all the features is undoubtably the downloadable demos for the DS. Now you can try out all those demos from the comfort of home instead of embracing shame while you publicly display your infatuation with your DS Lite at the local mall.
At the moment there is no news as to when the rest of the world will be receiving this application, but it is nice to know it is out there.
UPDATE GameTrailers.com now has a video of the new channel in action. Expect to see some trailers (TVCM), Miyamoto-san trying to sell Wii Fit, and the DS demo downloads. View it after the break.
With a year of speculation and anticipation, a Wii version of this Dreamcast classic has made its rounds in the rumor mill, and last month's announcement in Nintendo Power only caused more head scratching. Now comes news straight from Sega themselves confirming that this title is indeed coming to Wii. Developed by Gearbox Software (makers of Brothers in Arms and the PC Half-Life expansions) this title will be Wii exlusive with a release date of Spring 2008.
[img width=250 align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/hardware/J-027/bf/J-027-H-00020-A.jpg[/img]Nintendo Co., Ltd. is ending official repairs of the original "Family Computer" on October 31, 2007. Originally released in 1983, the Famicom was Nintendo's first venture into the home console gaming market. While many of us are surprised that they still support a system so long dead (the last game was Adventure Island 4, in 1994), all that can be said is that you can't expect them to support it forever. By comparison Sega of Japan quit servicing Dreamcast units last year, even though they continue to sell new Dreamcast games through Sega Direct. After ten years of discontinuation of a system, the semiconductors required for replacement parts become difficult to find and purchase in quantities that have a guaranteed availability.
The Famicom isn't alone. The Super Famicom, Nintendo64, Game Boy Pocket, and Game Boy Light are also slated to end repair service support in the near future.
It isn't all doom and gloom for gamers. The Wii Virtual Console service offers the same games on the Wii and should free up use on aging hardware for at least the more popular titles.
Dreamcast "new" releases... 2007
Triggerheart Exelica
Karous (last commercial release)
Last Hope 2008 Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles 2009
DUX Last Hope: Pink Bullets Rush Rush Rally Racing
Irides: Master of Blocks 2010 Fast Striker 2012 Gun-Lord 2013 Sturmwind
DUX 1.5 2014
Redux: Dark Matters
Neo XYX by NG.Dev Team 2015
Alice's Mom's Rescue
James & Watch 'Arm'
Elansar & Philia
The Ghost Blade
Pier Solar HD 2016
James & Watch: Tooth Cracker
Leona's Tricky Adventures
Orion's Puzzle Collection
Xia & The Goddesses of Magic 2017
Escape 2042 - The Truth Defenders
Rush Rush Rally Racing: Reloaded
Alice Dreams Tournament
Breakers
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Now live on Japanese Wiis, the new "Everyone's Nintendo Channel" is a way of telling Wii owners about new software. A complete software listing, trailers, and demos will be available for games seeing an imminent release and those that are already on the market.
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