Usually at the butt of every joke in the videogame community and sometimes more screwed over than gamers in Germany, Australia can celebrate as its getting Xenoblade (under the EU name of Xenoblade Chronicles). At first, the game getting classified by the OFLC sparked rumors that Xenoblade would come out in Australia, But now it has been confirmed. No release date yet, but it pains us NA gamers to see other Nintendo branches become cooler than ours. Ours is run by a Suit in gamer’s clothing.
Yeah, I haven’t done one of these in a while… spending a good portion of my day trying to write even a couple of bars of decent music and studying techniques/history via textbooks and audiobooks doesn’t exactly have me wanting to tackle even more music at the end of the day. I’ll be honest, I haven’t had much motivation.
I’ve also had my hands full with Darksiders which should be finished for review in a couple of days, actually, the only reason I’m not playing right now is because the game froze on me in the middle of a dungeon that I’m not particularly fond of. Being too lazy to hook up my SNES, Super Gameboy and digging through a bunch of shit for the cartridge, I just settled for my modified wii, classic controller and a digital copy of the game.
Note : The Wired Fish does not support piracy. Own your games before emulating them.
I am going to have to come out clean and say I fucking suck at Super Mario Land. Mario’s momentum seems to break too easily and the controls always feel just a little stiff. I remember never being able to make it past world 3 as a kid and when I tried it out last week, I met the same fate. Tonight I am proud to say that not only have I finished world 3, but I also managed to beat Super Mario Land, and on one credit! Admittedly it was a little too close for comfort when I dropped from 18 to 2 lives at one point, but a few lucky bonus games was all I needed. But we’re not here to celebrate my victory, we’re here to enjoy some music.
While a lot of the later tracks invoke a more exotic feel, this leaves me with no such sentiment. It’s clear that it wasn’t even the intention which would explain why it plays in the very first level : while it lacks that feel of a faraway land, it’s damn catchy, and the song is one that you’ll be hard pressed to forget once you sing along with a couple of loops. Continue reading →
This… is not news. At least to me it’s not. Last Tuesday, on July 12th, Nintendo of America was issued a notice of allowance for The Last Story, one of the three games targeted in fan group/movement Operation Rainfall. What does this mean? Well, it means that no other property in the U.S. has a trademark on the name “The Last Story,” and thus it is safe to release here. Think Star Fox for the SNES, and Star Fox for the Atari 2600. Same name, two completely different games. Why is it not news? The deal here, as many have pointed out, is that companies tend to trademark their properties in many different territories as a safety net to ensure that no backwater little company takes the name and sits on it (or exploits it). Plus, trademark filings never really guarantee that anything will come out to begin with. Remember Chrono Break? Yeah, that was a ride.
Now if something does come out of this trademark, then this article means nothing and you can commence throwing eggs at my face.
Ahoy Fellow Fishes! We have returned with an All-New episode of The Wired Fish Podcast. We have video this time (woohoo!), and there will now be a rundown with every podcast we make. But do mind the lame title sequence. We haven’t made a new one yet. And we need more mics. But regardless, we have a variety of topics covered today. So grab your drinks, your snacks, and your ears, and enjoy the show.
On a sidenote: We do record every Thursday. As for release times, well that depends on how much editing needs to be done. But rest assured, these get released within the week.
Also, I forgot to mention. The Beyond Good and Evil HD trailer was obtained from Machinima.com.
And do support Operation Rainfall’s effort to persuade Nintendo of America to release Xenoblade, The Last Story, and Pandora’s Tower.
Intro -00:01
Supreme Court Decision – 2:09
Operation Rainfall – 10:27
Review Fallout of Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D – 17:50
Capcom Nickel & Diming and DRM – 23:23
Beyond Good & Evil HD and Ocarina of Time 3D – 29:20
Games like The Legend of Zelda – 37:28
Release methods between SEGA and Nintendo – 49:31
Wrap Up – 58:06
Credits – 59:03
“I can’t say that it’s entirely out of the realm of possibility, ” says project director Masahiro Sakurai and an interview with IGN. He goes on to state that while there is a chance that Capcom characters could be included in the next Smash Bros, they would have to fit in with the universe that is forged by Nintendo characters. To be honest, it doesn’t make too much sense since that didn’t stop Snake from being included, and he arguably the most out of place character in the game (but still awesome though). But, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Iwata revealed during the E3 press conference that the next Smash Bros. we be made for both the 3DS and Wii U and that the two versions will work together in some way. So far, development hasn’t started yet, but Sakurai and Project Sora are looking for people and developers to help in making the game. No release has been set (obviously)
Well, to me anyway. In case you’ve been living under a rock (or looking at the Sorceress’ boobs all day), Nintendo just unveiled a new console called the Wii U. Now, I’m holding off on giving a full thought on the console since I want to get one of the other guys in on this. But one question that’s been popping quite a bit is how many of those tablet controllers the Wii U will recognize. An article from ZDNet confirms that there will only be one tablet controller per console. Meaning no local multiplayer with multiple tablet controllers. Now at first this may seem like a problem for local multiplayer enthusiasts. But for online gaming, it’s actually no problem at all. Looking at the games most “hardcore” tend to play, they’ll be going online and there’s really only one controller needed. It’s a bummer if you want to bring a local guest in as they won’t have the controller you have, but they can still use a multitude of controller options (among them being classic, Wiimote, Wiimote & Nunchuck, and Wiimote +). But you can still do local multiplayer with the other controllers.
Also, this confirmation also answers another question many gamers were asking in terms of how much the controller would cost. Nintendo says that the controllers will not be sold separately and that the controller you get with the console is the one you get. Thus, no need to worry about howm much the controller costs, for now. So when you get the console, you better treat your controller good and be nice to it! Otherwise, it’s gonna power down and not deal with yo’ shit anymore!
Nintendo had a pretty good year last year. Probably one of their best for their Wii and DS. And now, the 3DS is out in the wild. So far, the 3DS launch wasn’t really making the handheld fly off the shelves, and the launch lineup wasn’t really something to write home about. But there are still games to be released on the system in the coming months. With Wii sales slowly starting to fade away, we really know almost nothing for what the future holds for the Wii. Maybe Nintendo will announce that those Japanese (and European, in Xenoblade’s case) exclusives are coming to the US? And what of Project Cafe? What exactly is this thing? Well, stay tuned.
Nintendo’s Press Conference begins at 12PM EST (9AM PST). Once the conference is underway, click the link below to launch the liveblog.
With the dawn of a new Nintendo E3 conference upon us, I thought this would be a good time as ever to round out this short series of articles. Now, in the other two parts I talked about the things that Nintendo and third parties did wrong. Well, now turn to the flip side of the coin and talk about what went right with the Wii. It goes without saying that as much as Nintendo and third parties frustrate me in certain aspects, I still like my Wii more than my PS3. With that said, let’s take a look at what the Wii did right. Continue reading →
Note: anything regarding sales here refers to sales in the US.
What’s the basic idea of marketing? Do you show your product to people in hopes they buy it? Do you put neon signs and marching lights somewhere to get their attention? Do you dress it up in barely anything and question their marriage? Yes, yes, and… kinda, but yes. When you make something that you want people to see, you bet your ass you gotta whore it out like Grade A Booty. It’s deceptively simple, yet somewhat tricky to market your product. But in some ways, marketing a videogame is easier than the other mediums we have out there. With games, your audience will be either kids, adults, old people, “hardcore,” real hardcore, casual, or niche. Not much else to it. Next, it all comes down to what kind of product you’re selling. Hit the jump to see what went wrong with marketing on the Wii. Continue reading →
Looking at my games library, I see more white cases (and a red one) than I see clear or green cases. There’s no mistaking it, my Wii has gotten the most attention this generation than my PS3 (which I got 2 years after the I got my Wii near launch). A Nintendo Customer Service rep (long story) even looked through my Wii account and said it was the largest account he’d ever seen. “Points redeemed, points redeemed, points redeemed…” is all I heard for about a minute. So yes, you can say that I’m a satisfied customer. I like the Wii, and thank god it came out when it did (the world would be a browner, grayer place if it didn’t). But still, there’s always this niggling feeling that I get; that the Wii is capable of something more. Maybe the Wii does have that “something more.” But with so many problems plaguing the Wii now, and with Project Cafe potentially being revealed at E3, the Wii may never reach that “something more.” And that’s a damn shame.
After many months, and after many votes, the Smithsonian has chosen what games will be shown during their Art of Videogames exhibit. There are some obvious choices, and some surprises. Since this list is long, you’ll have to hit the jump to see them. Okay? So here we go.
That’s all six games, Beat, Core, Void, Runner, Fate, and Flux, coming to the 3DS, in one cartridge. Aksys Games has also stated that the game will also have Stereoscopic 3D. No word yet on how some of the games will function (Some are no-brainers, others like Flux make me wonder). So for those who always wanted to play the games but didn’t have a chance (or you’re too rightfully scared to buy them off WiiWare), now you can play all six games on the go. Aksys has no release date yet, but I’m guessing we’ll be getting it this year.
Also, now I get the meaning of that 3D Commander Video picture that circulated the interwebs sometime ago.
There’s been a lot of talk about Nintendo going around, especially with all the rumors and information surfacing, and now Shigeru Miyamoto continues to tease us with more news about their plans, as well as what to look forward to. According to Miyamoto, Nintendo’s been focusing on hardware lately, which would explain why we haven’t been seeing much software from Nintendo recently. However, he says that the focus will shift towards making more games
Miyamoto states that Nintendo will be creating “meaningful and high-value games” downloadable through the 3DS’ eShop. He also says that there are going to be more game remakes on the horizon for the handheld, and happened to mention that a remake he’d very much like to see is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
A 3D remake of A Link to the Past? Sprite looks hopeful.
Personally, I’d love to see it happen. It would be great to replay the game with a new two-layered look, and it’s nice to see some popular Nintendo games getting remade. But I can’t wait to hear more about Nintendo’s new titles, and I’m curious to see what games are going to be available on the eShop service.
All I know is that this year’s E3 looks like it’s going to be a crazy one thanks to Nintendo.
It was only a matter of time with all the rumors of a new console that we would hear an official statement from the folks over at Nintendo. Fan favorite, Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed that there is indeed a new console on the way, though not all the rumors may be true. Not much more was given in details, but that’s what E3 is for, right?
In the meantime, he was sure to bring up the 25th anniversary of the Zelda series, which hopefully leads into another awesome party over at Nintendo World that I can actually make it to.
Thankfully, Miyamoto has made a few more confirmations : a new Zelda, Mario, Mario Kart and Pikmin along with new AR games for the 3DS. I love the AR games we got, and Face Raiders so hopefully they start making games that use that system and have a lot of substance too.
I haven't yet played the second Pikmin and already can't wait for the third!
Might have to play/review Pikmin 2 soon if the third one is coming out, stay tuned!
Well, this one took a week longer than anticipated… Pilotwings Resort is one of those games that you can clear in 10 hours total playtime, but the kind you can only play in 20 minute to half hour bursts. Not because it’s a bad game, but it gets really taxing on the eyes, especially if you’re like me and play the whole time with 3D turned on.
The logo remains classy as ever!
In fact, let’s start by talking about the 3D effects since being the 3Ds and all, it’s the first feature that comes to mind. The extra visual depth makes Wuhu Island a marvel to look at the first time, and makes the various landmarks and locations you visit feel all the more tangible. The ruins, volcano, and caves here and there add personality to the island. Toward the end of my goal to get a 3 star ranking on each mission and unlock the Diamond Class, I had to turn off the 3D effects because it was getting distracting when it came down to just a few more points for the 3 star.
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