While Wii Wait

Despite the continued supply chain difficulties and assurances to the contrary (has anyone seen a Wii in-store in the UK?), Nintendo officially states that the following games will be coming out for Wii in Japan in 2007:

Donkey Kong Taru Jet Race (DK Jet or DK Bongo Blast, US) - June 28, 2007
Wii Health Pack -- 2007
Disaster: Day of Crisis - 2007
Mario Party 8 - 2007
Project H.A.M.M.E.R. - 2007
Wii Music - 2007
Super Mario Galaxy - 2007
Super Smash Bros. Brawl - 2007
Battalion Wars II - 2007
Forever Blue - 2007
Mario Strikers Charged - 2007
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - 2007
Mario and Sonic at the Olympics - 2007

There's no official word on PAL release dates. However, the likes of Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Strikers Charged should reach European shores sometime this summer, if major online retailers are to be believed.

Buy Lite

After much soul searching, I've decided to sell my Polar White Nintendo DS Lite (bundled with Metroid Prime Hunters and Mario Kart DS) on eBay!

The Wii is taking up too much of my time and I can't bear to see the DS Lite looking lonely and unloved! Happy bidding.

Nintendo's Post-Christmas Crackers

Wii will not be with me until next week! That's OK as I'm too penny-pinching to pay for First Class delivery!

GAME (UK retailer) employees are purportedly alleging that there's going to be significant hardware and software shortages pre-Christmas, and are banning software and accessories-only pre-orders! Nintendo Wii Fanboy is seeking confirmation on this story.

Zelda is the only Nintendo franchise represented in the UK launch. However, Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption are not too far behind! In homage to the latter, the rest of this post will be of particular interest to video game merchandise hunters!

With the instantly recognizable bulky round orange shoulder pieces, Samus Aran’s Varia Suit has served the interstellar bounty huntress well. Her Varia suit, with the ability to resist even the most extreme of temperatures, has helped Samus on her quest of aiding the Galactic Federation in defeating the Space Pirates and eradication of the deadly Metroids.

First 4 Figures is extremely proud to present Samus Aran’s Varia Suit, the first collectible statue in First 4 Figures’ highly anticipated suit series based on Retro Studios’ Metroid Prime game trilogy.

First 4 Figures has used the official game files in order to create an extremely accurate recreation of the Varia suit, with pose inspiration taken from official Metroid Prime Varia Suit artwork.

The suit series will include, but not limited to, Samus Aran’s Light Suit, Dark Suit and Phazon suit.

Cast in high quality poly-stone, the statue is hand finished and hand painted with metallic paints to give an authentic representation of the suits.

Comes packed in a foam interior full colored box with a card of authenticity.

Mario Warez

Amazon UK has confirmed dispatch of my eagerly awaited Polar Ice DS Lite. In anticipation of its arrival tomorrow and some quality time playing Mario Kart DS, Mario 64 DS and Metroid Prime: Hunters. Here's a Wii post!

Whilst I applaud Nintendo's decision to include the Virtual Console in its next generation games machine - the download service will feature classic titles from past Nintendo consoles (from the NES to the N64) as well as from formerly competing systems, such as the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and PC Engine/TurboGrafx 16 - what impact (if any) will this have on the emulation market?

What intrinsic value (aside from legalities) is there for a paid-for download service, when ROMs and software emulators can be (relatively) easily obtained online? Yes, Nintendo (and third party companies) can issue suits (and have done so to protect their intellectual property).

In terms of mainstream consumers there's little doubt that the service will be a boon: finding and maintaining emulators and working ROMs is time intensive. And perhaps Nintendo will offer value-added features such as full screen anti-aliasing and extra levels for example?

Of course customization is part and parcel of emulators such as NESCafe and Genesis Plus. So, to the PokeROMs community there's perhaps zero benefit. I, for one, will support Virtual Console as long as the UI compares favorably with Apple's iTunes Music Store experience.

Is it too late to change the pervasive all you can eat (for free) culture?

Opera 9 has been announced and their DS browser debuts in Japan.

Super Mario Sunshine

Blue skies over the South West of England, sunburn, high humidity and high street retailer WH Smith are already taking deposits for Nintendo Wii, which isn't available until the profitable holiday season!

The DS Lite is only a few weeks away and Amazon UK bumped their pre-order price from £89.99 to £99.99 within hours of listing Nintendo's trailblazing portable. I'll wait until a few Amazon Gift Certificates (to the value of £5) come my way before bagging Metroid Prime Hunters and New Super Mario Brothers (selling like hotcakes in Japan)!

Chez Fred

Dad missed my birthday this year. So, he treated me to KFC tonight. Brought back memories of eating like a 'barbarian' with longtime friend and fellow Bournemouth alumni Sunil Chamund. In 1996 Sunil arranged an unforgettable - and genuine - surprise party. And Nick Smith, Natasha Gann et al went to Chez Fred. That evening Bournemouth's award-winning Chez Fred restaurant was closed to the public. I don't drink alcohol, but the proprietor very generously donated a bottle of wine. A cherished birthday memory and a reminder of far less complicated times.

Tonight Amazon UK started accepting pre-orders for Nintendo DS (£99.99 or €149). Maestro Shigeru Miyamoto oversaw the development of the successor to the Game Boy brand. The dual screen concept will doubtlessly shape the future of gaming. The DS hardware package will come bundled with Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt, as it did in the USA.