Nintendo is live streaming Satoru Iwata's GDC keynote speech on their website. Could this mean big news? The speech is titled "Video Games Turn 25", which would lead me to believe there will be more than a passing mention of a major franchise that recently turned 25, The Legend of Zelda. There might even be talk of a certain plumber who turned 25 last year, we haven't seen anything about his first 3DS outing yet. Tune in 12p.m EST tomorrow for what are sure to be megaton announcements.
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Despite what Activision previously said about Guitar Hero and DJ Hero support ending after February, they have now revealed that more DLC is in fact scheduled. The new DLC was announced on both games' twitter accounts, citing the 'continued support' from fans as the reason behind the change of heart. My guess is that everyone heard about Guitar Hero being killed off and got nostalgic enough to start caring about it again. I wouldn't be surprised if Activision continues to release DLC for the remainder of this console generation, before relaunching next gen. In my opinion Guitar Hero and Rock Band really are titles that only need to show up once every five years if they handle digital distribution properly. There is no word on what the new DLC is or when it will be available, but it is good to know that Activision plans on continuing support for fans of both series.
I have some good news for all of those saddened by Bizarre Creations closure last week, several key staff members have formed a new studio called Lucid. The studio is going to be led by Pete Wallace, a former senior manager at Bizarre. Wallace had this to say about the direction of the newly formed studio, "We plan to build a studio which encourages open communication with its partners, customers and other developers."Lucid is reportedly already in talks with publishers about potential future projects. I hope they stay far, far away from Activision.
Source: Eurogamer EscapeVektor has just been announced as a new WiiWare title from Aussie video game developer Nnooo. The game can be played with just the wii remote, but also supports the classic controllers. You must navigate Vektor through 30 levels spanning 5 worlds in order to rescue him from the confines of your Wii's CPU. It doesn't seem like the game utilizes motion controls in any way, instead having players use classic d-pad controls to navigate Vektor along a grid. By bordering cells Vektor is able to gain unique abilities like boosting and laying bombs, accomplished by pressing the 1 and 2 buttons respectively. There are also several interesting enemy types in the game that will give you much more trouble than any Pac-Man ghosts ever did. Patrol enemies are stuck on paths that the player can learn and take advantage of. Hunters will search the whole level for intruders and speed up when Vektor enters their sights. Even more dead are the Interceptors, who enter the level at full speed fully aware of your presence. Fortunately they can only cross a set number of junctions before they expire. Watch the trailer above for a glimpse of escapeVektor's retro inspired gameplay and some nice music. The game is set to launch on WiiWare at some point in 2011.
Website: escapeVektor It was 25 years ago today that the original Legend of Zelda launched on the NES. I should really turn in my gamer card, I regret to inform you that I still haven't beaten the first two Zelda games. I did get within 1 or 2 dungeons of beating the first one, but eventually got lost and forgot where I was. Even though the game originally came with a map I refuse to use guides to help me beat games. I oftentimes struggle with choosing which Zelda game is my true favorite, as all of them are pretty great. Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Ocarina of Time and Link to The Past are among my favorites, each one of them could be my all time favorite depending on what kind of mood I am in.
Zelda games offer a unique blend of adventuring, puzzle solving and combat with unique weapons that scratches a gaming itch that no other series can. I get thrilled every time a new one is announced, even if the series has become a bit stale as of late. I am hoping that when Skyward Sword comes out later this year it wows us with its originality and fresh take on the beloved franchise. Is Nintendo going to put out a special collection for Zelda like they did with Mario for his 25th birthday? We already have two Zelda games coming out this year, the Ocarina of Time remake for the 3DS and Skyward Sword for Wii, will gamers actually be able to handle more Zelda than that? I know I will. Nintendo Wii now accounts for 25.4% of Portugal's gaming hardware market after moving 375.000 units last year in Portugal for a YOY growth of 52.2%. Why is this important you may ask? These numbers look like a single month's NPD in the U.S., but this is big news because Portugal was one of the last countries in the world where Sony held the lead in console sales. Sony once had a 90% market share in Portugal, making this market shift quite remarkable. Sony's PS3 consists of 24.3% of Portugal's gaming market and sold 359.000 units last year for a YOY growth of 11%. The Xbox 360 also saw nice growth last year due to the popularity of Kinect with a 43% increase, but the system still remains in a distant third.
Source: i Software
01. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, WII, NDS, PC) Activision Blizzard 02. Just Dance 2 (WII) Ubisoft 03. Dead Space 2 (360, PS3, PC) Electronic Arts 04. Little Big Planet 2 (PS3) Sony 05. Zumba Fitness: Join the Party (WII, 360, PS3) Majesco 06. NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, PSP, WII, PS2, PC) Take 2 Interactive 07. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (360, PS3) Ubisoft 08. Dance Central (360) MTV Games 09. Michael Jackson The Experience (WII, DS, PSP) Ubisoft 10. DC Universe Online: The Next Legend Is You* (PS3, PC) Sony Hardware Xbox 360 - 381,000 (+15%) Wii - 319,000 (-32%) PS3 - 267,000 (-3.6%) An astounding 4 out of the top ten selling games this month were dancing games. Just Dance 2 is still doing amazing, beating out Dead Space 2 despite the latter coming out on three different platforms. It is still nice to see Dead Space 2 chart, along with Little Big Planet 2. It's interesting to see Zumba Fitness: Join the Party chart seeing as how I hadn't heard anything good about it. Same with Michael Jackson: The Experience, you would have thought word would have gotten around about how bad it was by now. The truth is clear, America has a sickness and the only cure is more dancing. I'll post hardware numbers when I get them. Source: NPD I happened to think Metroid: Other M was pretty awesome, but not every critic would agree. The game did less than stellar at retail, leading many gamers to speculate that Nintendo would put the franchise on the shelf for a while. I don't think that's necessary, instead I thought of a few ideas Nintendo should utilize to help make Metroid relevant again.
Click here to read my thoughts on where the Metroid franchise should go in the future Toys "R" Us may have simply made a mistake, listing Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition on their website with a ship date of March 13th, but I am thinking that this is further confirmation of the rumored reprint. The collection has proved to be quite popular on eBay, going for nearly double its retail price. While Mario probably deserved a much better collection for his 25th birthday a reprint would mean that fans won't have to pay an arm and a leg to obtain this piece of history anymore. I am just glad that a younger generation of gamers will now have another opportunity to experience these classics. Even if the Limited Edition doesn't end up getting a reprint you can always download the games individually from the Wii's Virtual Console, but then you would be missing out on some cool packaging and a CD filled with some of Mario's greatest tunes. Look forward to a confirmation of this news in the coming days.
If you have not done so already (and really why haven't you?) make sure you download the Netflix Channel from the Wii Shop Channel. According to an e-mail Netflix sent out to subscribers the discs will no longer work after February 16th. Your Wii's disc drive will surely thank you. If you haven't experience the wonder that is Netflix, follow this link to start a one month free trial of the service. |