Nintendo 3DS gets international launch date

Nintendo has officially announced that its 3DS handheld will be internationally launched in March, following the much-anticipated portable device's debut in Japan a month earlier.



Of all the announcements at this year's E3, the 3DS, requiring no glasses, was the most compelling! Can't wait to play Kid Icarus: Uprising and Resident Evil Revelations. However, it will have to stave off a serious challenge from the iPod touch (4G) (review soon).

iPhone OS 4.0: Game Center a DS & PSP killer?

Apple has revealed upcoming features that will be included in this summer's iPhone OS 4.0 update, at a special event, today.

Amongst the 100 new features announced: multitasking, Folders, iBooks for iPhone and iPod touch, Game Center and iAd.

Game Center maybe the most exciting with Apple crowned as the new king of portables (a view I've extolled for sometime)! This will leverage social networking and prove difficult for both Nintendo and Sony to combat in the mobile gaming space.

Yes, the PlayStation Network (PSN) is available on the PSP, but Apple's vertical integration is peerless, and Nintendo's DS looks dated in comparison no matter what Reggie Fils-Aime would have you believe.

Although my iPod touch (2G) won't benefit from multitasking in OS 4.0, I'll be sticking with it as my money is going on an iPad.

Wii Fit Generation

Considering what a success the DS and Wii are now it's easy to forget what a risk they have been for Nintendo. Not just the consoles themselves, with their never before tried controllers, but also most of the games! After all who'd have thought that a puppy owning simulator would go on to become the most successful game of the current generation? With Wii Fit though Nintendo are pushing the definition of what a video game is even further, with a game that wants to get you fit as well as entertain you.

Although the motion control sensing Wii remote has now been accepted by almost all. Wii Fit uses a completely different device for controlling its games. The Balance Board looks something like a set of bathroom scales, but is filled with press sensors that can not only measure weight, but also sense the movement of your body so that it can monitor and track exercises. There are around 40 activities in total, from yoga to press ups and step aerobics, as well as a number of "proper" games including heading footballs, a Super Monkey Ball style marble game and ski jumping. Also included is the Brian Training inspired Wii Fit Age, which monitors your weight and body mass index (BMI) every day and gives advice on your health.

With other companies, including Square Enix, already interested in using the Balance Board as a controller for their own games Wii Fit looks set to become Nintendo's biggest success story yet. It can't be too long before Back to the Future III's hover board enjoys a renaissance to the sounds of Huey Lewis and the News' "The Power of the Love"!

Mario and friends make a spectacular return in this definitive version of Mario Kart, providing the most action-packed, adrenaline-filled racing fun ever seen in the series. Players will have to master a host of 16 exciting new tracks in addition to 16 classic tracks from previous Mario Kart games.

For the first time ever players will have the option of racing with karts or a brand new mode of transport - Bikes. Using bikes as your chosen method will offer up some interesting and different gameplay possibilities such as carrying out a "wheelie", which in turn will give you a small boost that could be crucial and make that all important difference at the finishing line.

Players will also be able to hit the road as their own personalized Mii caricatures in addition to many classic and even some never-before seen characters in Mario Kart games. True to the series, Mario Kart Wii will feature adrenaline pumping racing action, a plethora of power-ups and masses of objects for players to use to slow down their rivals. Also with 10 battle arenas, players are sure to be kept busy between trips around the circuit.

Combining all the much-loved features from the series, Mario Kart Wii also sees a whole host of stunning new tracks, characters, weapons and vehicles. Those however looking for world ranking domination can take on up to 11 players simultaneously worldwide using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service which will offer them the chance to race other players across the globe in a nail-biting contest of speed and skill! Prefer to keep the rivalry a little closer to home? Try the Multiplayer Mode, in which up to four people will be able to challenge each other in the comfort of their own living room, bringing the on screen excitement into a whole new dimension.

In addition to all this a new Wii Channel, the Mario Kart Channel, will also be launched with Mario Kart Wii. Players will be able to monitor their ranking against others with data compiled from races completed online as well as also access and share Ghost Data to download. Why not see if your friends are playing by checking their status or even better still set up a room in which you can chat to them before a race starts? Players even have the possibility to join in on their friends races in progress as a spectator and jump into the race when the next course launches. Through this channel, users will be exposed to a host of new online features allowing them to join a community of racing fans from all over the world as well as participate in special worldwide events organised by Nintendo.

Mario Kart Wii comes bundled with a new and intuitive accessory - the Wii Wheel, which makes it one of the most accessible Mario Kart games to date and allows complete novices to compete with ease and comfort, ensuring no one is left in the dust.

Mario Kart Wii supports five different control options: Wii Wheel, Wii Remote turned on its side, Wii Remote and Nunchuk combination, Classic Controller and even Nintendo GameCube controller. There's a configuration that fits everyone's experience, level and style.

DS Deal

Amazon.co.uk is running an unmissable late summer DS deal! Buy a Black, White or Pink console and a top game for only £109.99 GBP! This discount runs until December 31st, 2007. Don't forget to pre-order The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, considered by some gaming critics as the best entry in the franchise! And Heroes of Mana.

Wii Breaks UK Sales Record

Nintendo’s Wii system has become the fastest-ever selling console in UK history, racking up over 1 million sales in just 38 weeks.

According to figures released Thursday by sales data trackers Chart Track, Nintendo’s Wii passed the 1 million sales mark 11 weeks faster than the previous record holder, Sony’s PlayStation 2, which took 50 weeks to achieve the feat, and 22 weeks earlier than Microsoft's Xbox 360, which took 60 weeks to hit one million UK sales.

The Wii now reportedly claims a 68 percent share of the UK home console market, while Nintendo’s DS system also has an 86 percent share of the UK handheld console market.

"The non-stop demand for Wii even in the traditionally slow sales periods for video games in the UK is clearly behind this record breaking achievement,” said David Yarnton, general manager of Nintendo UK.

“The performance of both systems appears to indicate that unprecedented interactive entertainment experiences, provided by a combination of the revolutionary nature of DS and Wii with the increasing number of unique software titles for the system from Nintendo and third parties, are being enjoyed by both avid and new gamers of all ages.

“With more great games such as Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3 and Endless Ocean launching in 2007, Wii, together with Nintendo DS, will continue to be the main driving forces behind the expansion of the video game market this year."

Wii Appeal

Hot on the heels of Reuters, arch-rival Bloomberg emotes on third-party developers scrambling to play catchup on the Wii, now that it has proven itself as a viable revenue generator!

Bloomberg outlines the wake-up call that major publishers and developers received when they belatedly discovered that the Wii would probably sell like hotcakes - their tardiness is deplorable in the wake of Nintendo's DS success! The report doesn't cover particularly new ground, as we’ve seen analysts warn publishers about not jumping on the Wii early on, reported on particular companies cashing in on their early Wii investments and witnessed major publishers shift resources to Wii.

But it’s nevertheless interesting to see how the wait-and-see strategy can come back to bite you.

“Those companies [who waited on Wii development] are backtracking,'' Piper Jaffray & Co. analyst Anthony Gikas told Bloomberg. “They're going to need to get their best-branded product on that platform. That will take a good nine to 12 months.''

Ubisoft is one company in particular that saw the potential of the Wii very early on. The Paris-based company released big Wii sellers such as Rayman Raving Rabbids and Red Steel at the console’s launch.

“It's not really a bet anymore,'' Ubisoft marketing VP Tony Key told Bloomberg. “It's a viable system that's going to make us money.''

Wii titles helped drive Ubisoft's December quarter sales up 24 percent to $405 million. Wii games accounted for 21 percent of sales during that quarter.

Other companies that invested in the Wii early on include THQ and Midway. Activision plans to release six Wii games this year.

Meanwhile, companies such as Electronic Arts have acknowledged the Wii’s viability, even recently purchasing a studio that would develop Wii games exclusively. Take-Two plans to bring three games to the Wii this year, including the expectedly ultra-violent Manhunt 2.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime is undoubtedly pleased that third party publishers are giving the Wii some attention, even though some of that attention is coming slightly late.

He recently told Newsweek that getting more third parties on board with Wii development is still a major focus for Nintendo, whose previous Nintendo 64 and Gamecube saw flagging third party support.

Do you have an Xbox 360?

Microsoft's Xbox 360 is enjoying quite considerable success in the UK and readers may remember that I was quietly impressed with the console; particularly because of its Mac SDK origins. However, this did not precipitate a purchase as Nintendo's Wii (Revolution) captured my imagination as surely as Nintendo's DS and DS Lite.

The Xbox 360's lead is mostly down to coming to market first, limited supplies of Wii and Sony's shambolic launch of PlayStation 3! Given Microsoft's aggressive business model, a significant price drop and product revision would come as no surprise.

A PS3 global price cut could come as early as October!

Yuji Fujimori said in an investor note reported at CNN Money that cost-reduction measures in the manufacturing process would allow Sony to pass the savings along to consumers without damaging the company's long-term profitability.

Fujimori's note outlined how Sony reduced the number of components in the original PlayStation from 700 pieces to 200 in its final form, and the PS2's makeup was reduced from 2,000 to 600 components. According to the report, the PS3 prototype consisted of 4,000 components, and today production is heading for the 2,000 mark.

IBM recently announced that the PS3's Cell processor is moving from 90nm to 65nm, an important move in lowering the cost of PS3 production.

Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer recently acknowledged that the PS3's price could be a barrier to many consumers, saying, "If we fail, it is because we positioned PS3 as the Mercedes of the videogame field.

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.

Stop The Cavalry

Where has the year gone? Wasn't it only yesterday that I posted this?

Read on for the first part of my Review of the Year. And the prizes go to:

*E-Commerce - aStore by Amazon. Amazon's new aStore format has impressed me (as has your willingness to purchase from the links) and I hope that this store concept is developed further. An urgent request to Amazon's Associates team - please add RSS as soon as practicable. Runners up: ReviewMe and PayPerPost.

*Web - MySpace. Now that the dust is settling around RSS, I'm hard-pressed to recommend any significant web-based product this year! That's my tenuous excuse out of the way. Social networking websites (and bookmarking) are all the rage, and it would be churlish to ignore their profound dominance. Runners up: RSS and Facebook.

*Buzz Word - Wi-Fi. Wires are so passé. No logo, no go. Runners up: RSS and VoiP.

*Application - Adobe Photoshop CS3 Beta. Why? Well, the all-new UI has to be seen to be believed and the significant speed gains can't be ignored (even on my ageing LCD iMac G4). Runners up: Firefox 2 and iTunes 7.

*Gadget (formerly Console) - Wii. It's garnered acreages of coverage both here and elsewhere. Nintendo has delivered a revolution with Wii and the only flies in the ointment are product availability and the replacement remote strap fiasco. Both will be addressed in the New Year. Runners up: Nintendo DS Lite and iPod Shuffle.

*Video Game - The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess (Wii). Hyrule rendered in lush panoramic 16:9. Runners up: Rayman Raving Rabbids (Wii) and Killzone Liberation (PSP).

Stay tuned for Best Album, DVD, Movie, Television series and much more.

Super Mario 64 DS

Stuck for holiday gift ideas? Then checkout my latest listing on eBay!

Nintendo's critically-acclaimed Super Mario 64 DS.

Super Mario 64 was a genre-defining classic. Now it arrives on the Nintendo DS with all-new features that take advantage of the new portable system's dual screens, touch screen and wireless features! Mario, Luigi and Wario are invited to a royal party for Princess Peach. When they arrive at the castle, it is strangely empty and the 3 of them try to learn what happened. When they disappear too, Yoshi must rescue them from their old enemy Bowser.

*Play as Yoshi, Mario, Luigi or Wario -- each has their own unique abilities and you'll need them all

*Collect the 150 Power Star Bowser hid on the castle grounds

*In Adventure Mode, you'll control the four friends by using the stylus on the touch-screen

*Play and win fun touch-sensitive mini-games

*Battle up to three friends in Wireless Versus mode, which can be played with only one Super Mario 64 DS game card

Remember to subscribe to my newly relaunched eBay Feed!

WiiPod

Online speculation is rife regarding rumors that Apple's next generation iPod may include the capacity to play classic Nintendo games? This is based on several suppositions, not least Apple's appointment of a game developer last year and Nintendo's adoption of Apple aesthetics.

If so, this would most likely be part of a co-branded offering including the licensing of iTunes for Nintendo's Wii and, perhaps, DS! Is it that farfetched?

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.

Know Your Roots

Since picking up a Nintendo Game & Watch with Multi-Screen in 1986 (along with Transformers Autobot Ultra Magnus), I've owned gaming portables from each generation. With the spectacular release of DS Lite. Here's my list of hardware owned to date.

*Nintendo Game & Watch with Multi-Screen (Mario Bros)
*Atari Lynx
*Game Boy Advance
*Game Boy Advance SP
*DS
*PSP
*DS Lite

Switching to the PSP for a moment. Sony's mini-marvel has been a revelation! PSP is more media-centric than gaming nirvana per se. I've spent more time surfing the web (via Wi-Fi) and listening to music than playing the shockingly brilliant Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and WipEout Pure. PSone emulation will be available in a forthcoming firmware update. And then there's the Sony Location Free TV Base Station.

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)!

The Triforce Grants Gaming Greatness

For Generation X the name Zelda is synonymous with teatime television hit Supermacromation series The Terrahawks and Nintendo!

Like Mario, Zelda is the brainchild of Shigeru Miyamoto thus sharing the high production values of its sibling. Zelda has, inevitably, spawned its own lifestyle merchandising. From action figures to cereals. And lest I forget to mention the animated series too, which is now available on DVD!

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) introduced me to the wonders of Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

A Link to the Past follows the adventures of Princess Zelda's and Link's ancestors, referring to the characters from the two Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Thus, A Link to the Past takes place before the events of the first two Zelda games. The game's endurance was typified by its inclusion on the Game Boy Advance (GBA) title The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords.

With the imminent arrival of the Zelda franchise on both the Nintendo DS (Phantom Hourglass) and Wii (The Twilight Princess). The continuation of Link's award-winning adventures is assured and I, for one, don't intend to miss out.

Lite Launch

Big N has officially announced the European launch of the DS Lite. Mark June 23rd in your Google Calendar!

Whilst the DS Lite is available in a spectrum of colors in Nintendo's native Japan. On launch day Europeans will have a choice of black and white. Black is clearly proving popular, but I'll stick with white in order to compliment my existing desktop and portable lifestyle products.

Get your pre-orders in early as prices are already creeping up. Play.com is the cheapest at £97.99 (subject to change without notice).

At time of writing there is no word regarding what bundles (if any) will be available. Surely including a copy of New Super Mario Brothers is a must?

Lite Fantastic

Well, the Nintendo DS was sold, on eBay, in a last minute bidding scramble. Hopefully it has found a happy home.

Avid portable gamers can now pre-order Nintendo DS Lite from the folks at Lik-Sang.com. DS Lite is the epitome of urban chic and ships in desirable packaging! I'll be dropping them an email in the hope of securing a review machine. What a cheek?

Lik Sang was established in 1998 as the first Hong Kong based company offering video game and other consumer electronic goods to any kind of buyer type, even to the end customer.

Run by motivated and experienced Chinese, European and Japanese staff always striving for providing the best possible service to valued customers, Lik Sang have quickly become the largest online video game store located directly in the heart of Asia, the place where everything happens first!

Mario World

Periodically I'll be advertising my eBay sale items here.

If you missed the 2005 Wizard World Philadelphia Spike Palz listing fret not! I'm now selling a Nintendo DS Handheld Console & Mario Kart Bundle.

•Bundle includes:
•Silver Nintendo DS
•Mario Kart DS

This is in mint condition - only opened once and switched on to ensure that there are no dead pixels.

The Search For Spock

A quiet weekend before the MWSF storm! I hope you find the new Search This Blog feature (see sidebar) a useful "value-added" tool. Time to play my pixel-perfect Nintendo DS.

Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

As gifts are unwrapped and Mac Users await the irony of Intel Inside (I'll be ordering a Mac mini during MWSF 2006). News reaches these shores that Nintendo Revolution gamers can expect Sega's 16-bit classics on the next generation console! What this means for software emulation remains unclear. Incidentally, MacMAME maybe updated next week. If it heralds the long awaited new front-end, I'll post a review. Who knows, Brad Oliver may release it as a Universal binary.



Contrary to my earlier post. There was no DS for me today. Play weren't able to send a replacement prior to the weekend festivities. However, Lego lightsabres basked in the neon glow of a fiber optic tree.