Tag Archives: wii

XSEED Delays The Last Story, But Sweetens The Deal

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Before the mayhem of E3, Amazon customers who pre-ordered The Last Story were sent emails informing them that the game would not be released on the expected date. In the email, it stated that “the release date for the video game listed below has been changed by the publisher…” It goes on to state that the estimated release date would be August 6th, which is a little over 5 weeks from the original release date of June 20th. So we’ll have to wait a little longer to enjoy what may be the Wii’s Last Story.

But on the heels of this delay comes some good news. XSEED has revealed that a special Limited Edition will come with all first run copies of the game. The game will come with a 44-page artbook (way more pages that Xenoblade’s), with both the game and artbook coming in a box. If this is the reason for the delay, then I welcome it. I’m a sucker for collector’s items that are standard with the game (like Ar Tonelico, Devil Summoner 2, and Persona 2). I just finished Xenoblade, so I’m more than ready to play this. Not sure if those who pre-ordered have a better chance of getting the artbook, nor if it can be picked up without a pre-order. I’ll update you when I find out.

XSEED shows off The Last Story Limited Edition [Destructoid]

Did A Wii Virtual Console Game Release With Online Play? Yes, Yes It Did.

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The game? Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers for the SEGA Genesis. Wow. Y’know, I gotta give props to Capcom for this. They managed to do something that not even Nintendo thought of doing with their own games. Since the start of the Wii’s Virtual Console service, many had hoped that many of those old classics would have online multiplayer; Super Mario Bros., Joe & Mac, F-ZERO X, Bubble Bobble, Secret of Mana, and many other games with great multiplayer. But the games released would just be straight ports with no new bells and whistles added. But Capcom sought to fix this and added online multiplayer for the Genesis version Super Street Fighter II:The New Challengers. Makes a bit of sense though since the original had XBAND support. Unfortunately they may not be able to add it for the SNES version since they’ve long since released it. It may not mean much since the Wii’s life is close to the end. But hopefully sends a message to Nintendo and other companies that it’d be awesome for these old games to have online multiplayer. If Nintendo continues VC service on the 3DS and resumes the line on the Wii U, this feature would be more than a welcome addition.

So big ups Capcom, big ups.

Genesis version of Super SFII now on US Virtual Console – with online play [Capcom Unity]

U.S. Copies of Xenoblade Outsell Japan’s Total Lifetime Sales[EDIT]

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Well it’s already been a month since Xenoblade went on sale in the U.S. So far I’ve been thoroughly impressed with this game with each gaming session unintentionally becoming a marathon session. But how has Xenoblade done in terms of sales? According to VGChartz* the game has sold a total of 220,503 copies in the U.S. Compare that to Japan’s totals sales of 159,000 copies sold, and Europe’s 176,000 copies sold, and you’ll see that the U.S. was the biggest contributor to the total sales of the game. Keep in mind, Nintendo did next to no advertising for the game, producing one trailer (that they sent to publications twice for some odd reason), making a crappy internet banner ad, and made the game a retailer exclusive. A whole lot of super-safe steps were made by NoA to make sure next to no money was spent in advertising this game. It was up to the fans to spread the word. Operational Rainfall was the primary hub for this, with others joining in to help out in spreading the word (myself included). Not only that, it was up against Mass Effect 3, The Witcher 2, and Nintendo’s own Mario Party 9 (which sells freakishly high numbers). And look, the game sold better than anyone expected considering the circumstances. All territories combined, Xenoblade has sold a grand total of 623,000 copies. Good job people!

Now if only there was a cake to celebrate this occasion.

*VGChartz uses speculative data for its sales numbers. [Edit] Unfortunately, VG Chartz is the only one reporting this since NPD won’t list Xenoblade due to its retail exclusivity. So Neogaf users, quote us with caution.

Nintendo Posts Its First Annual Loss In 30 Years

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While Nintendo did expect to lose a little over half-billion dollars in the past year, its still quite a kick in the face for the company. To put this in perspective, Nintendo has never reported an annual loss since going public, essentially when it went to the videogames business. Throughout those years, we’ve seen Nintendo stumble couple of times with the N64, Gamecube, and a few other excursions. But it never dragged Nintendo down that much… until now.

With Wii sales dropping as a new console looms on the horizon and the shaky (but much improved) launch of the 3DS, this could be the jolt that Nintendo needs to finally get back in the game. During this generation, you can see that Nintendo got pretty arrogant with their consoles, even going as far as charging $250 for the 3DS based on people really liking the 3DS with it was first shown at E3 2010. But hey, maybe things might be looking up. There’s a new Super Mario game coming out for the 3DS, and development on the new Super Smash Bros. is finally underway for both the Wii U and 3DS, and sales for the 3DS are on the rise as well. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Wii U crucial as Nintendo posts first loss in 30 years [techradar]

While We Enjoyed Xenoblade, Europe Got This…

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I want to cry. So… so much. While Nintendo of Europe has shown how awesome they are by being the bigger man by localizing the three games and giving them awesome collectors editions, they went one step further and created this. Exclusive to HMV, the box came with an artbook depicting concept art for all three games and left extra room to store your three games, Xenoblade, The Last Story, and Pandora’s Tower. Note that the box does not come with the actual games themselves, nor is this the Limited Edition box for Pandora’s Tower (it has its own LE).

You got this if you pre-ordered any version of Pandora’s Tower. Prota tipped me on this during a Spring Break hangout at the ol’ campus. I couldn’t believe it. Then he showed me it on Facebook. My jaw dropped into the pits of Tartarus. For a while, both links lead to missing pages on HMV. But the Limited Edition on has since returned (though whether or not you get the box with the game is still a mystery). While I thought that image you see up there was fake, this video proves that it does exists and that NoE are the kings of trolling the hell out of us American gamers. But hey, if you got the disposable income to get the box somehow, you can still put your NTSC games in there. I probably would.

Again, thanks to Prota for the tip.

A Quick Warning About Xenoblade And Your Wii

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If you have a Wii and are planning to get Xenoblade, I would just like to warn you that Xenoblade is printed on a Dual-Layered Disc. If you remember, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Metroid Other M were also dual-layered discs as well (indicated by their gold-colored reading surface), and we all remember the news about people who had trouble with their Wii reading Smash Bros. Brawl. Well, it seems to be happening again with the much anticipated Xenoblade Chronicles. I looked around to see if anyone was having this problem and it seems like this issue is popping up in some places as well, including Gamespot and IGN. At first it may seem like a problem with the disc. It you get an error, check the disc and clean off any scuff that might be on it and put it back in. If the Wii still can’t read it, than it’s the Wii’s lens that is the problem.

When this happened last time with Smash Bros, Nintendo said that it was a problem with the Wii’s lens being dirty and that they would take in the Wii to be repaired (i.e. cleaned). About a year later Nintendo released a cleaning solution to the public to buy. Amazon has the kit for $30, but you can get it from ShopNintendo for $10. Youtuber Kermit1986 shows how this cleaning kit works since he had trouble getting his Wii to read Smash Bros. Brawl. Personally, what I did was I turned my (launch) Wii off and blew on the disc slot (like Kermit did) and put Xenoblade in. I got an error message. So took the game out, turned off the Wii and readied two other games: Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Mario Galaxy 2, a Dual-Layered and Single-Layered Disc respectively. So I inserted Smash Bros. first and it loaded fine. Then I inserted Galaxy 2 and it loaded fine as well. Then the moment of truth. I inserted Xenoblade and it too loaded fine. But just to be sure I started the game up to see if it would go through all the way (since all it did last time upon loading was kick me back to the Wii Menu). But, it loaded fine and I resumed playing. I’ll update if this happens to me again.

[UPDATE] OpRainfall has caught wind of this and has posted a link to Nintendo’s support page regarding Xenoblade and Wiis not reading the game.

This Assassin’s Creed trailer makes me love April Fools’ Day.

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I’ve never been a very big fan of April Fools’ Day. Not that I hate it or anything, I just don’t love it either. However, things like this are some of the best products of the holiday. Here we have a trailer made by a talented group of people who show us what a Kinect version of Assassin’s Creed would be like.

As ridiculous as the game seems, it looks pretty damn hardcore! Maybe Ubisoft should take notes, this could be gaming gold. But in all seriousness, I’m looking forward to seeing more videos from these guys if they decide to make this a regular thing. My only fear is seeing that duel wielding little girl again, she freaked me the hell out.

Source: HawkandGamble

Use These Xenoblade Commercials in Your Youtube Videos

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[UPDATE: 3o second version of ~Action~ now up. View after the break]

Ahoy!

After seeing that Operation Rainfall made their own trailer for Xenoblade, I decided to jump in and create my own videos for it. But instead of a trailer, I decided to make TV commercials! Three 15 second ones to be exact (with a 30 sec one coming soon). You can read up on the process of how these videos were made in the video descriptions on YT. Now I could’ve made another trailer, but I feel that commercials, particularly the ones for videogames, don’t get as much love. Plus fan-made trailers tend to lean dangerously close to AMV territory. Sure they pop up every freaking time on TV and before a video. But when you sit down and look at a commercial (especially the older ones), you sort of begin to appreciate how the video was made and who it was made for. That and how far we’ve gone in the art of advertising.

But enough about that. We’re here about using them. After the break, the other two commercials and what to do.
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Did The Last Story U.S. Release Date Get Leaked?

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Looks like it. A User by the name of Conegamer at gamrConnect noticed that The Last Story‘s Metacritic page has posted a release date of June 19, 2012. Conegamer does point out that Metacritic has been wrong before, but with many signs pointing to an ambiguous Summer release for the game, Metacritic may not be too far off.

Remember kiddos, Xenoblade gets release on April 6, a Friday. Those that pre-ordered get a snazzy artbook. Though I’ll have to confirm with Gamestop if those artbooks apply to those that preodered before or after they said it. And to U.K. gamers, GAME doesn’t have The Last Story in stock. So you might have to look elsewhere for your TLS fix.

Nintendo Ad Campaigns Retrospective

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[This retrospective has been updated to include new info, broken videos restored, and the addition of the Wii U campaign. If you wish to see it, click here.]

You have an idea for a product. You make the product. And now it’s time to sell the product. So what’s the one thing you’ll do to sell your product? Advertise it of course. This is pretty much the pattern that most product makers follow. In the game industry it’s no different. With catchy slogans, flashy graphics, and some off-the-wall shenanigans, an ad is supposed to convince you to buy the product they are selling. But ignoring all of the attempts to sell and actually looking at the ad, they always seem to be a product of the era that they were released in. So for this retrospective, we’re going to look at one of the longest living game companies, Nintendo, from when we played with power to two guys asking us if Wii would like to play.

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The Last Story Coming To America Courtesy of XSEED Games [UPDATE]

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In a Nintendo Direct video posted this morning, Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed that The Last Story would be coming to North America sometime this year. Interestingly, XSEED Games will be publishing this title (after reports said that Nintendo didn’t want another publisher handling it). No word yet if XSEED will be using the build created for Europe or if they’ll be using American voice actors. [Update] According to Operation Rainfall (via the XSEED Forums), The NA localization will be based on the European version. So I guess this is another score for the Rainfall guys. There’s still one title left, but I think it’s safe to say that we’re good for now.

Reggie also revealed the winning art that will be used in the inlay of Xenoblade Chronicles if anyone’s interested. Maybe there will be one for The Last Story as well.

The Last Story English Trailer

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And finally there’s a trailer for Mistwalker’s The Last Story with English voices. Since the primary market for the PAL release is European (obviously), the voices here are British, just like Xenoblade. Of course I have no problem with it, at all. And they seem to fit even more too, especially for the Lowell character (uh, no offense), even though we don’t hear his voice. Regardless, The Last Story is scheduled for release in Europe on February 24, with Australia getting it a day before. And remember, Xenoblade graces our shores on April 6th.

The Last Story Gets European Release Date

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In the midst of all the celebration of Xenoblade’s U.S. release confirmation, Nintendo has set February 24, 2012 as Europe’s release date for The Last Story. Hironobu Sakaguchi and his company Mistwalker are the makers of this game. The last major games they made were Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon, both Xbox 360 releases. The Last Story was release in Japan in late January of this year. No word yet on if The Last Story while join Xenoblade in coming out in the U.S., but I’m assuming Nintendo of America is going to see how this game performs in Europe before taking any action on it.

The Last Story gets European release date [CVG]

I Stand On My Soapbox: You Wanted The Game, Now Follow Through

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I Stand On My Soapbox is a series of editorials that cover more specific topics in the games industry and community. These articles are a little more extreme than normal editorials published here, and could just degenerate to outright ranting. Have fun and enjoy the show!

Over the weekend, the Wii community, and JRPGs as a whole, have been celebrating the confirmation of Xenoblade finally making it to the U.S. I’ve been listening to the music all weekend and have added some songs to my daily playlist. I’ve seen the trailer a lot, saw some gameplay footage, and watched a couple of early cutscenes in the game. I’m ready to preorder this baby this week (even though I really hate Gamestop, it’s my only choice. And no I have no means to pre-order from Nintendo). But in the back of my mind, I fear that this game may not sell well in the U.S. But this time, it cannot happen. It mustn’t happen! Continue reading →

Xenoblade U.S. Trailer and new Title Design

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Not too long after the reveal of Xenoblade coming to the U.S., a new trailer was posted. The trailer reveals that the U.S. release will be based on the PAL version, meaning that there will be British voices a-plenty. One thing that has been changed is the title design, which now has “Chronicles” in smaller font and under a line (ignore the IGN thumbnail). I actually like this new design as it’s less busy than the PAL version and downplays the “Chronicles” part of the title (something that many gamers saw as an unnecessary subtitle). You’ll also notice many of the songs that are in the game that are really stunning. I’ve been listening to some of the music all weekend, and it’s really good! Yoko Shimomura (Kingdom Hearts, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story) and Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono series, Soma Bringer) are the composers for this game, so you know this is going to be an amazing soundtrack. Xenoblade is set for release in April 2012.