Review My Pokémon Ranch (WiiWare)
Is this WiiWare release a Dude Ranch or a Dud Ranch?
Review Cocoto Fishing Master (WiiWare)
Is this fish a keeper, or should it be thrown back in the water?
News USA WiiWare Update: Block Breaker Deluxe and Cocoto Fishing Master
North America’s WiiWare catalogue has been swelled by two new releases today.
Review Alone in the Dark (Wii)
Spooky goings on in Central Park, would you like to know the truth behind the light?
The highly stylised adventure game Okami paints its way onto Wii, but is it a masterpiece?
News - June, 2008
Monday30th Jun 2008
News US VC Release - 30th June - Fatal Fury 2
While Europe seems to be alternating five and zero Virtual Console game weeks, the US seems to have a pattern as well now. That pattern seems to be two VC games one week, then one the next, two after that, etc.
As last week the US got two games, that means this week there's just one. It's Fatal Fury 2 for the Neo Geo. The Fatal Fury series is rather...
News USA WiiWare Update: Magnetica Twist
If you are a puzzle game fan then you are in for a treat this week as Magnetica Twist is up for grabs. Anyone who is familiar with PopCap's Zuma will know exactly what is on offer here. There should be no complaints about this being a cheap copy of Zuma however, it is the other way around if anything – Mitchell got there first in 1998 with their arcade game Puzz Loop, or Ballistic as it came to be known outside of Japan.
Europe got this a few weeks ago under the guise of Actionloop Twist so our review is all ready and waiting to help you decide if...
News Drake's Ratings Roundup - June 2008
As we don't usually create a news article for each new game that gets a rating, we thought it would be a good idea to do a monthly roundup listing each game rated by every ratings board to keep you up to date.
Here is a quick explanation of the different rating boards which we track: ESRB rated: The ESRB stands for Entertainment Software Rating...
Friday27th Jun 2008
Review King of the Monsters (Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Monster mash
King of the Monsters is one of those titles that, despite being a very mediocre game overall, enjoys a fairly strong following around the gaming community. The game takes the classic "giant monster stomping through cities" made famous in the King Kong and Godzilla movies, and somehow builds a one-on-one fighting game around it. But...
Saturday28th Jun 2008
Review Super Fantasy Zone (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)
Take on the role of Opa-Opa, who is on a mission to avenge the death of his father.
Given that the original Fantasy Zone achieved quite a cult status in arcades and on the various 8-bit consoles of the time period, it's certainly no surprise that the game spawned a few sequels and spin-offs. Super Fantasy Zone represents what many fans of the series...
Review Summer Games II (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)
The pinnacle of athletic achievement. The Summer Games.
The second Epyx sports title (and third Virtual Console release) provides eight entertaining events, of which half can be enjoyed split-screen with another player. As usual, you have a choice of which events to compete in (or practice) and how many players there are – each represented by...
Friday27th Jun 2008
News Eternity's Child - No Plans For A North American Release
After yesterday’s shock news regarding the distribution of World of Goo, we’ve been informed by Luc Bernard that to the best of his knowledge, Eternity’s Child is currently only coming out in Europe on WiiWare.
The game is being published by UK company Alten8 and Bernard has confirmed that although he's been kept informed about the upcoming...
News Hudson's Adventure Island Could Be Revived On WiiWare
It seems that Hudson is in the early stages of creating a new Adventure Island game. Takahashi Meijin, who you might know as the real-life Master Higgins, said in a recent interview that the game would probably be for WiiWare, and will most likely not use forced motion control, as that would take away from the game's simple gameplay.
As it has been...
News Japanese Virtual Console list - July 2008
As it's the last Friday of the month once again, Nintendo of Japan has revealed their Virtual Console plans for the next month. There are some notable games here, including (finally) Donkey Kong 3, the first Space Harrier, another Fire Emblem, and Shining Force II.
The full list is as follows: Famicom: Dig Dug (July 1st) Chack'n Pop Donkey Kong...
News Brawl Finally Smashes Into Europe
For European gamers today has been a very long time coming as Super Smash Bros. Brawl was finally released across Europe.
This action-packed fighting game features a ridiculous number of characters that have appeared on Nintendo platforms, from Mario to Link to Pikachu ... to Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog! As they square off in famous locales...
News Miyamoto Gives His Thoughts On WiiWare
Shigeru Miyamoto did an interesting Q&A session with Wired recently. As ever he is his usual charming self and discusses a variety of topics including Wii Fit, swimming and hamburgers!
Of course what we are most interested to hear about are his thoughts on the WiiWare service so far. It is interesting that Miyamoto acknowledged that the American...
Thursday26th Jun 2008
News Mega Man 9 Is Coming To WiiWare In Retro Style
Time to rejoice! As you might remember, a while ago we mentioned that Mega Man 9 had received an OFLC rating. We did not know the platform at the time, but speculated it could very well be a WiiWare release due to Capcom's traditionally strong support of Nintendo. The upcoming issue of Nintendo Power confirms our suspicions - Mega Man 9 is indeed heading to WiiWare.
According to an interview in the magazine, the game will pretty much be a Mega Man fan's wet dream with 8-bit graphics, 8-bit music and sound effects and 8 Robot Masters. Basically, it's a whole new NES game and not a glossy Mega Man makeover! The 8 Robot...
News World Of Goo Will Not Be Released On WiiWare In Europe!
Whilst browsing NoE’s summer 2008 release schedule we were intrigued to find “World of Goo (RTL Playtainment) - Q3 2008” on that list. After all isn’t World of Goo supposed to be a WiiWare game?
Questioning our own sanity, we contacted our old chum Ron Carmel at 2D Boy and found out what was going on. Here’s what he told us: Our European...
Friday27th Jun 2008
Review Cybernoid: The Fighting Machine (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)
Federation storage depots have been raided by pirates, taking valuable minerals, jewels, ammunition and the latest battle weaponry.
Part shooter, part maze game, you are tasked to track down and retrieve stolen cargo from pirates, returning it to a storage depot at the end of each level (of which there are 3) before time runs out. Not that the...
News EU VC Releases - 27th June - Super Fantasy Zone
After this week, it is rather safe to assume that Nintendo of Europe is indeed following a pattern. There's 5 new VC games to pick from, and like two weeks ago, no WiiWare games.
The top pick might be argued about, but if you ask us, it's Super Fantasy Zone for the Mega Drive. The game plays pretty much exactly the same as the original Fantasy Zone...
News No WiiWare Games For Europe This Friday
It would seem that Nintendo of Europe have firmly decided on a pattern for WiiWare and VC releases now. Last week you got two WiiWare games, so this week you get none!
It's not all doom and gloom however. There are 5 new Virtual Console games to choose from and none of them are stinkers: Super Fantasy Zone - Megadrive Pac-Attack - SNES King of the...
Wednesday25th Jun 2008
News Most Popular WiiWare Games in North America (25th June)
It’s Wednesday again, time to look at what the most popular games are in the Wii Shop. To check for yourself simply log on to your Wii Shop channel, go into the WiiWare section and then view “Popular Games”.
We are checking the North American list, so if you live elsewhere your list will probably be a lot different. Feel free to post your...
News Sunsoft To Bring Digital Comics To WiiWare In Japan
This is an interesting titbit of news for the WiiWare service in Japan. Sunsoft have recently announced that later this summer they will be distributing comics digitally via WiiWare.
The work of legendary anime creator Leiji Matsumoto should be amongst the first comics on WiiWare. So before long our Wii owning Japanese friends might be reading...
Tuesday24th Jun 2008
Review Alone in the Dark (Wii)
Spooky goings on in Central Park, would you like to know the truth behind the light?
Atari has taken it upon itself to resurrect Alone in the Dark, the quintessential survival horror game. It's been over 7 years since the last game in the series, not that it matters as this latest incarnation writes an entirely new contemporary story. The game's...
Will you master the warp gate or lose it all in this technoplasma fuelled shooter?
There has been no shortage of hype surrounding the release of High Voltage's new Tempest-style shooter Gyrostarr. The only problem with having that kind of hype is that the game ultimately has to attempt to live up to it. After complaints of Star Soldier R, the first...
News Telltale Games Interview - Strong Bad's Cool Game
Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People (SBCG4AP for short) is perhaps one of the most anticipated upcoming WiiWare releases. When it was first announced it came as a real surprise, as people were not expecting a point and click adventure game based on one of the most popular flash cartoon series at all!
We recently caught up with Mark Darin, a...
News Nintendo Euro Release Dates
Nintendo announce a number of new release dates for Wii and DS titles, most notably "Wario Land: The Shake Dimension" coming September 26th.
Hold on to your sun hats as the Wii summer line-up kicks off with the return of the Brawl in the latest super-charged generation of Super Smash Bros. Brawl! Unleashed on 27 June, Mario, Bowser, Zelda and...
News Super Mario RPG Released in Japan Today
It's a big day for Japanese Wii owners - Earlier today, Super Mario RPG was made available for download in the Wii Shop. The game costs 900 Wii Points (For some reason, a bunch of games in Japan, mostly RPGs, cost more than normal).
The game was recently rated by the OFLC, so it should be coming to Europe/Australia as well. As it was never released...
News Top Spin 3 Has Spun On To Wii
Top Spin 3 the game previously rated fairly high on the X360 & PS3 has arrived on the Wii just in time for Wimbledon.
The reaction to the game so far has varied: it has recieved a high 81 out of 100 in the Official Nintendo Magazine but just 60% from the less biased NGamer UK magazine. However some gamers have critisced the graphics and a general...
Monday23rd Jun 2008
News US VC Releases - 23rd June - Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Not too bad of a week for the US today, especially if you couple it up with what was released on WiiWare.
The pick of the bunch is of course Alex Kidd in Miracle World, the first in the Alex Kidd series and arguably the best. The game is rather simple and fun to play, unlike its many sequels which mostly introduced new, not so good elements which...
News USK Rated: International Karate+ and Cybernoid for C64
Some good news for Commodore 64 fans today. Two aging classics have been rated by the German ratings organisation, the USK, so we expect them to be on the Virtual Console in due course.
International Karate+, or IK+ to its friends is rather obviously the sequel to International Karate which is also on the VC. It was released almost a year and a half...
News USA WiiWare Update: Gyrostarr
As promised in the press release the other day, Gyrostarr is indeed out today in North America. For the bargain price of 700 Wii points this should be well worth a look we think.
For the more cautious, we’ll aim to get our review ready soon to let you know if this lives up to the expectations or not. Watch this space! More from Nintendo’s...
Sunday22nd Jun 2008
Feature Secret of Evermore - Brian Fehdrau Interview
Developer of Secret of Evermore
Our resident reviewer Corbie Dillard has been busy securing some fresh content for his SNES fansite. He really struck gold with a recent interview which he did with Brian Fehdrau, the lead programmer on the Squaresoft USA team that developed the Super Nintendo rpg hit Secret of Evermore. At the present moment, Square...
News Imagination Is The Only Escape May Be Coming To WiiWare
Our good friend Luc Bernard has gotten in touch to confirm that his World War 2 epic Imagination Is The Only Escape which was previously flagged for release on the DS – may be coming to WiiWare in an episodic format.
Posting on his blog page, Bernard confirms that development of this innovative title - which focuses on the horrors of the Holocaust...
News ESRB To Crack Down On Early Leaks Of Games
Since the very beginning of VC Reviews we have rounded up the latest games which should be headed to the Virtual Console on our coming soon list so you have the inside scoop on what games are coming up.
One of the primary ways we do this is by checking game content ratings on the ESRB website. Basically if a game doesn’t get rated there then it...
Saturday21st Jun 2008
RUMOUR PopCap Games To Develop For WiiWare?
Ok, so this is probably a bit of idle speculation on our part but looking at a recent interview with PopCap Games we get the impression that the talented developer – which has such hits as Peggle Extreme and Zuma under its belt – may be looking into producing WiiWare games.
CEO Dave Roberts and co-founder John Vechey stated that they were...
News Gyrostarr Hits WiiWare This Monday!
This is the news you have all been waiting for, after much ado you will finally be able to get your hands on Gyrostarr on Monday, well if you are in North America. For those not in the know this looks like a even more frantic version of Tempest, and it is one of the most eagerly anticipated games coming to WiiWare.
At 700 Wii points this is most...
Friday20th Jun 2008
News Saikyou Ginsei Igo - Board Game Fun For Japanese WiiWare
On Tuesday 24th June, Japanese WiiWare gamers will get their hands on an puzzle game called Saikyou Ginsei Igo which is the second in the series of six board game simulations which Silver Star are bringing to WiiWare. It is based on the Board game called “Go” from the looks of it. It will cost 500 Wii points.
If you would like to see more there...
News Play Alone, In The Dark, Today
Atari's latest incarnation of Alone in the Dark is released today across Europe on Wii, hurray.
The versions for Wii and PS2 have been developed in parallel specifically to take full advantage of each console’s capabilities. Both games push the hardware hard, incorporating many of the gameplay features found in the Xbox 360 version. On the Wii,...
News Toki Tori For WiiWare Goes To Euro 2008
He's football mad!
Our finely feathered friend Toki Tori does like to get out and about it seems. Most recently he has been spotted at the Euro 2008 football championship! (Soccer to our American friends) Take a look for yourself at the freshly updated Toki Tori website. If you look under the media section you can find some nice wallpapers for your...
News Wii Gets Lightsaber Duels
LucasArts announce a new Star Wars Clone Wars simply titled, Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a state-of-the-art computer-animated motion picture and television series that bridges the gap between Episode II and Episode III feature films. Under the supervision of George Lucas, Star Wars: The Clone Wars brings...
News Ubisoft Invite You To A Sports Party
Super casual Ubisoft announce a first title "Sports Party" from their new "PLAY ZONE" label, out next month.
"Today Ubisoft announced that it will launch a new Wii exclusive party-games range under the label PLAY ZONE. The PLAY ZONE titles will provide immediate entertainment & recreation thanks to original and numerous mini-games to be...
Thursday19th Jun 2008
News Nintendo "Working On A Solution" To Storage Problems
Finally, Gamesindustry.biz get the scoop that the "geeks and Otaku" have been waiting for.
In an interview with Laurent Fischer (famous for his "geek" quote a few weeks ago) has admitted that Nintendo are "working on a solution to the problem". While a USB storage device has been rumoured many believe that the update will be a...
News Microsoft Befuddled by WiiWare
Microsoft's Chris Satchell must be an easily confused guy, because he’s recently gone on record to state that he’s downright stumped by Nintendo’s WiiWare service and the strategy the company is employing when it comes to nurturing developers.
Satchell, who is general manager of Microsoft’s game developer group, unsurprisingly believes that...
Friday20th Jun 2008
News EU VC Releases - 20th June - Epic Fail
Things are dire in Europe again this week. Those 5 releases last week must've been to throw us off-guard and then give us this: Absolutely nothing!
Yes, it's the same situation as two weeks ago: While there are (two) WiiWare games, there is not a single new Virtual Console game. One has to wonder what Nintendo of Europe is thinking with a strategy...
Thursday19th Jun 2008
News Vitei Opens Up About Plans For WiiWare
You may remember a few days ago we brought you news that a WiiWare game using the balance board was in development by Giles Goddard and new team at Vitei. Goddard has previously worked on such classics as Star Fox, 1080° Snowboarding and Super Mario 64 so this is great news for WiiWare.
There are a few more details on their WiiWare plans now as you...
Friday20th Jun 2008
News EU WiiWare Update: Block Breaker Deluxe and Cocoto Fishing Master
You’ll have to forgive us but there’s a tangible feeling of déjà vu in the air here at WiiWare World, because this week’s releases happen to be the exact same ones North America was graced only a few short days ago.
That’s right – European Wii owners can indulge in some fantasy-fishing with Cocoto Fishing Master or bust some blocks with...
Wednesday18th Jun 2008
Review Cocoto Fishing Master (WiiWare)
Is this fish a keeper, or should it be thrown back in the water?
The Cocoto “franchise” is a strange one. After cluttering game aisles everywhere with rather generic sounding titles like Kart Racer, Platform Jumper and Tennis Master, the series has come to WiiWare with a bizarre take on virtual fishing. Developed by Paris-based Neko...
Review Block Breaker Deluxe (WiiWare)
Can this Arkanoid clone match the block-breaking fun of its predecessors?
Arkanoid clones were two-a-penny many years ago, particularly on home computers; however gamers have not been treated to many games like this in recent times. It would seem the timing is perfect for Gameloft to bring the first game in their successful cell-phone based Block...
Competition Brawlin' At Gamestation
Super Smash 'Em Up
To celebrate the launch of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Nintendo UK haved teamed up with Gamestation to let fans battle and brawl to the death, all to win a HD home entertainment centre. Battle it out to prove you are the biggest and best brawler of them all at Gamestation Stores nationwide in the Super Smash Bros. Brawl Showdown...
Things go from bad to worse for Japanese developer Tecmo, now all of its employees are suing for over 8.3 million yen.
Things are looking bad for Tecmo, the company behind the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden games. Not only did the highly regarded developer Tomonobu Itagaki slag off his own games before leaving and suing the company, but now it seems...
Competition Get Your Ugly Face In Eternity's Child
Luc Bernard has contacted us to announce that he’s giving fans the opportunity to put themselves in his upcoming WiiWare title Eternity’s Child.
All you need to do is submit an amusing photo or video of yourself, or make a witty comment on Bernard’s blog page. Given Bernard’s obsession with pugs, we recommend that you try to feature at least...
News Most Popular WiiWare Games in North America (18th June)
It’s Wednesday again, time to look at what the most popular games are in the Wii Shop. To check for yourself simply log on to your Wii Shop channel, go into the WiiWare section and then view “Popular Games”. We are checking the North American list, so if you live elsewhere your list will probably be a lot different. Feel free to post your findings below as always.
Here is the list for 18th June: 1 (3) - My Pokémon Ranch2 (1) - Dr Mario Online Rx3 (2...
News Nintendo Looking To Push WiiWare Via TV Promotion
With the dust now settled from the launch of WiiWare, Nintendo has come under fire from some quarters about the way in which the company has promoted the service.
Many people claim that very little has been done to advertise the fact that the new DLC portal is up and running, with Nintendo initially stating that it hadn’t budgeted for such...
News LostWinds Is Best-Selling Euro WiiWare Title
Frontier Development’s excellent LostWinds is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the first batch of WiiWare games, and thankfully the general public seems to have acknowledged this because Nintendo of Europe’s Laurent Fischer has revealed that the inventive platformer is sitting pretty at the top of the European WiiWare sales charts.
Speaking...
News Ubisoft Stomping UK Summer Festivals
Sick and tired of the usual office grind, Ubisoft decide to mix things up this summer and head off on a tour of some festivals.
The Ubisoft Summer Festival Tour 2008 has been confirmed to attend high-profile festivals such as Hard Rock Calling (Hyde Park, 28th – 29th June) The O2 Wireless Festival (Hyde Park, 3rd – 6th July) Ripcurl Boardmasters...
News Medaverse Talk WiiWare On Business TV
Way back in February we did an interview with Medaverse Studios about their upcoming WiiWare game Gravitronix. Since then it’s all been a bit quiet from them on the news front, with little new news about the game.
That’s not to say the guys at Medaverse haven’t been busy. Recently they appeared on CNBC’s ‘The Business of Innovation’ TV...
Tuesday17th Jun 2008
News Get Even With Space Invaders On WiiWare
Taito's Space Invaders is making a comeback on WiiWare! In Space Invaders: Get Even you will, in a reversal of roles, play as the space invaders themselves as you take on the Earth!
The game was revealed a few months ago as a retail Wii game, but it has now been switched to WiiWare instead (or "download only" as our Japanese source below...
News FreeLoader Disabled By Update
People using Datel's FreeLoader boot disc will be in for a shock today, Nintendo's latest Wii firmware update renders it useless.
IMPORTANT! - Compatibility with Wii Firmware 3.3x and higher Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control Wii Freeloader is not compatible with Wii firmware 3.3 and higher (released as an online update...
News We Move: Pain Vs Pleasure - New Video And Information
You may remember a few days ago we revealed a mysterious video for a WiiWare game called Wii Move. An updated video has since been released by the ex-Rockstar employees at PheroseSoft showing more in-game footage. It has also been renamed to We Move: Pain vs Pleasure and has some kinky overtones that make interest the more sadomasochistic of our readers!
In the video you it is demonstrated that this game will allow you to create your own Mii-like characters, create your own moves, create your own items (such as whips and candles so you can get hot wax poured on you by a dominatrix!), you can even cruise your neighbourhood keeping trac...
News Fischer Completes Spectacular U-Turn On Wii Storage
It’s the story that just won’t go away. When Nintendo of Europe’s Laurent Fischer made a seemingly derogatory comment about Wii fans moaning about lack of storage, the whole Internet appeared to rise up in rebellion against him.
He’s since apologised for his remark and in an recent interview with Gamesindustry.biz has explained his position...
Monday16th Jun 2008
News USA WiiWare Update: Block Breaker Deluxe and Cocoto Fishing Master
North America’s WiiWare catalogue has been swelled by two new releases today.
The first is Block Breaker Deluxe, which retails for 800 points and is an enhanced version of an old mobile phone game. But don’t let that put you off – by all accounts the title is jolly good fun. As always, our review will follow shortly after we’ve play tested...
News N64 Controller Mod For Virtual Console
Although the Classic Controller is enough for most retro-loving Wii owners, there are some that crave a rather more authentic experience. There’s nothing like experiencing Virtual Console games on the controllers they were intended to be played on, and while Nintendo’s limited production of the Club Nintendo SNES pad will have satisfied a few, it’s going to leave a certain demographic out in the cold – namely those who love the N64 controller.
But fear not. A talented hacker called Raphaël Assénat and been tink...
News Nintendo Channel Gets An Update
If you live in North America or Japan you can now view some more information on the Nintendo Channel. If you've looked around the channel in the time it's been out you can probably guess what this is - The results of all the data people have entered so far concerning their Wii, VC and WiiWare games can now be viewed.
This means you can see if the...
News US VC Release - 16th June - Samurai Shodown
The WiiWare push in North America continues, as Nintendo of America is releasing two WiiWare games this week while only giving minimal attention to Virtual Console, by releasing just one game. At least it's a good one!
Samurai Shodown (That's not Showdown, a mistake a lot of people make) was one of the first fighting games where characters used...
News South Korea: Two More VC Updates
South Korea is slowly but surely catching up on the enormous back catalogue of Virtual Console games released elsewhere, as they didn't get the Wii (And thus VC) until last April.
On May the 26th, they got Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari (River City Ransom), Super Mario Bros. 3 (Oddly enough skipping 2) and Donkey Kong Country. Last week, on the 10th...
News 1080 Snowboarding Developer Working on WiiWare Project
Giles Goddard, famous for overseeing the development of the highly regarded N64 title 1080 Snowboarding, has recently confirmed that his Vitei team is working on a new WiiWare game that makes use of the new Balance Board peripheral.
Goddard, who started out at legendary UK developer Argonaut before being poached by Nintendo of Japan, has a wealth of...
News Nintendo Channel Goes Stats Crazy!
Ever wanted to know the time gamers spent playing one of your favourite WiiWare titles, or how many times played? Well now you can in the Nintendo channel (and live in North America!)
Not only can you find out info about WiiWare, you can view stats on all Nintendo games, including Virtual Console. For those who have opted into the service (most...
Sunday15th Jun 2008
The highly stylised adventure game Okami paints its way onto Wii, but is it a masterpiece?
Okami (Japanese for "wolf"), first released in 2006, was one of the few convincing reasons to still own a PS2. Capcom soon realised that a Wii port would be a good idea, the combination of Wiimote and Nunchuk could perfectly suit the games drawing...
Saturday14th Jun 2008
Review Fatal Fury 2 (Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Street Fighter 2 it ain't
Although the original Fatal Fury was undoubtedly one of the best challengers to square up to Capcom’s Street Fighter 2, many would argue that SNK’s franchise didn’t really get into its stride until the sequel was released. Improving on the first title in practically every way possible, Fatal Fury 2 was one of the...
Some people are both brilliant and have too much time on their hands, he's done it again, Mario Kart (Javascript Edition).
That's right, not content with just having Mario Bros. ported to Javascript we've now got Mario Kart (SNES version) to mess about with at work. So far, it's just racing. No weapons or any of that fancy stuff. At the moment, you...
News Nintendo Announce Guitar Hero: On Tour Bundle
The DS + Guitar Hero: On Tour bundle will go on sale across Europe on July 18th.
Most musicians dream of one day reaching platinum success. A new Nintendo DS bundle lets aspiring axe shredders claim that coveted status right from day one. The new Silver/Black Nintendo DS branded with the Guitar Hero® logo will be available exclusively as part of a...
News Johnny Chung Lee's Crazy Wii Experiments
Crazy Johnny takes the Wiimote to even new heights creating some simple demos that might even surprise Nintendo.
Before hating, I know that this is old news, I simply can't believe we never got round to posting these videos on the site, they really are something amazing and anyone that missed them should appreciate this post. Working out of...
Wii'll be back
After being missed in the last cycle, Call of Duty 4, the Wii will be included on the very latest iteration of the popular franchise, Call of Duty 5: World at War. This news comes via a videogaming247 reader, who spotted the info in a recent edition of gamesTM magazine. "There will be co-op for the first time in a Call of Duty...
News Family Gamer: Dad Edition
Tis week Paul looks at what games Dad likes to play and when
Dads are a tricky subject. Some are loving and inspiring whilst others absent and off hand. Some are communicative and open, whilst others are as hard to fathom as the depths of loch Ness. Some are in touch with their creativity and at ease with their feminine side, whilst others are...
News Alone In The Dark Wii Trailer
One of the most famous brands of yester-year is set for release on all next gen consoles this month, but will the Wii version live upto the others?
Central Park is hiding a secret. Over the course of one apocalyptic night trapped in Manhattan’s vast parkland, hero Edward Carnby must fight the unimaginable to survive and uncover the...
FromSoftware and Aquire are set to release Tenchu 4, the latest game in the long running Ninja series on Nintendo's Wii console later this year.
There is little known, in English, about this latest game in the series which first emerged 10 years ago, but from the debut trailer in Japan it seems likely that the game is indeed a Wii exclusive,...
News Nintendo Dominate US Games Market
Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii boost sales and keep Nintendo at number one state-side, Reggie will be chillaxing by the pool as we speak.
"The Wii Wheel and Wii Balance Board accessories make game play fun for new gamers while presenting new challenges for those who have been playing a long time," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's...
Friday13th Jun 2008
News OFLC Update - Super Mario RPG On Its Way To Europe
It's time to rejoice, as Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars has been rated by the OFLC today!
Fans have longed for this game's release on VC for an eternity - It was listed on the ESRB around the Wii's launch but mysteriously disappeared along with some other games later. After not hearing anything about the game for about a year, it was...
News Oxygen Games Interview - Pirates: The Key of Dreams
With the anticipation level building for the upcoming WiiWare title Pirates: The Key of Dreams, we decided to check in with Phil Merricks, Project Manager at Oxygen Games to find out a little more information about the game. Phil was kind enough to answer a few of our questions and you can find out what he had to tell WiiWare World in this exclusive interview.
WiiWare World: How long has Pirates: The Key of Dreams been in development for the WiiWare service? Phil Merricks: About 6 months. WW: What was the thinking behind making Pirates: The Key of Dreams a prequel to the fort...
RUMOUR Mega Man 9 Coming to WiiWare?
With the news that Super Mario RPG received an OFLC rating, we almost missed another interesting listing on the ratings site.
The OFLC also has a listing for Mega Man 9. As any Capcom fan should know, this is a new game, as the "classic" Mega Man series' last instalments were 8, and Mega Man & Bass. It is of course entirely possible...
News David Jaffe Personally Insulted By Nintendo's 'Geeks And Otaku' Comment
Did this news story annoy you? Of course it did. It also annoyed God of War creator David Jaffe, who went as far as to post a cutting reply on his blog page.
As well as using some pretty strong language, Jaffe also goes off on a tangent about a terrible movie and eventually comes to this conclusion: Now look: I like Nintendo. And I LOVE old...
News Eternity’s Child To Feature 4 Player Co-Op Mode
Exciting!
If you’ve been keeping up with the development of Luc Bernard’s gorgeous platform adventure Eternity’s Child then you’re probably getting increasingly excited about it by now. When we had the chance to play test a level recently we came away encouraged and optimistic. Well, Bernard has contacted us exclusively to reveal another...
News Otakugate – The Saga Continues
We only reported a few hours ago that Nintendo of Europe’s Managing Director Laurent Fischer’s recent ‘Geeks and Otaku’ comment had caused God of War creator David Jaffe a certain amount of annoyance, and if the news we’ve just received is anything to go by, it would appear that Jaffe’s subsequent tirade has worked. Fischer has issued an apology, which runs as follows:
I have huge respect for those who, like me, share a common passion for Nintendo and want to make it clear that I would never use and I didn’t use this terminology in such a context or way to cause offence. I re...
News Nyko Wireless Nunchuk - OBJECTION!
Nintendo isn't best pleased with "rip-off" design
We covered Nyko’s innovative wireless Nunchuk controller in a news piece some time ago and were generally pleased by the fact that a peripheral manufacturer had decided to fix one of the key problems with the Wii’s control setup – the pesky wire that keeps hitting you in the face as you...
News Wii Move To Bring Balance Board Fun To WiiWare
A mysterious video entitled "Wii Move - Balance Board Innovation" appeared on YouTube recently. The video shows nothing more than a computerised woman running with a clock frantically ticking in the background. The visuals seem to be a rather similar style to the trainers in Wii Fit. Could this trailer just be trying to raise enthusiasm for another workout game, or is it something more?
The mystery of who was responsible for this video was soon cleared up by Bal...
SEGA & Sonic nerds are set to meet up this summer to play some hedgehog starring games, all supported by the lovely people at SEGA Europe.
Welcome to the Summer of Sonic 2008! This is an event held by the British Sonic the Hedgehog online community to get fans together from all over the country (and even the world)! Meet your online friends in...
News EU WiiWare Releases 13th June: Spare Some Change, Squire?
As you’ve probably noticed by now, there are no WiiWare releases for Europe this week. It seems that Nintendo feels you’ll have more than enough to keep you busy with the 5 Virtual Console games that came out today.
Or perhaps the Japanese giant believes that the stunning news that Super Mario RPG is coming to the Virtual Console will be enough...
Review Alex Kidd in Miracle World (Virtual Console / Master System)
In Miracle World you'll have to contend with the evil Janken the Great, who will send his henchmen and monsters at you to thwart your progress.
Following the incredible success of Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros series, Sega decided that it too needed a platform game with an identifiable mascot. The result was Alex Kidd in Miracle World, which...
Review Last Ninja 2: Back with a Vengeance (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)
The Ninja, known as the Mystic Shadow Warriors, were the elite fighting force of Ninth Century Feudal Japan.
The second instalment of the Last Ninja trilogy transports Armakuni to New York, where he must confront the evil Shogun Kunitoki once more. Your travels are once again displayed in a flip screen isometric format, as you explore the...
Review Nebulus (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)
Weird things are happening on Planet Nebulus.
Nebulus (known as Tower Toppler in the US and Castelian in its NES and Game Boy incarnations) is another title from Hewson that is memorable largely due to its idiosyncratic presentation. The game is particularly noted for its striking visual design, and justifiably so, as it takes the basic structure of...
Thursday12th Jun 2008
News Xiotex Amazed By Reaction To WiiWare Rebuttal
Xiotex - the small indie developer that was the focus of our rather shocking news story recently – has posted another entry on its/his blog page regarding this sorry state of affairs. It would appear that the tiny devco didn't expect the original blog post to cause such a kerfuffle.
When I started the ‘WiiWare is a lie’ blog post I had no idea...
Friday13th Jun 2008
News EU VC Releases - 13th June - The Last Ninja 2, Alex Kidd and more!
After last week's VC disaster, we assume everybody was hoping Nintendo would release an extra large amount of new games this week as some sort of apology. Well, they have chosen to do exactly that, as there's five new games now available!
Last Ninja 2: Back with a Vengeance is quite similar to the first game (also on VC), featuring the same...
Thursday12th Jun 2008
News SNK Virtual Console Releases In Jeopardy?
It’s been on the cards for some time now but Ignition Entertainment has officially announced the Euro release of SNK’s Arcade Classics Collection, Volume One.
This retro anthology is already available on the Sony PS2 and PSP and contains 16 choice cuts from the back catalogue of this illustrious company. All of the games are taken from the...
News Beer Pong Is Evil And Wrong!
When we first brought you the news last month that a game based on Beer Pong would be coming to WiiWare many of you had a good laugh at the stupidity of it all.
Lisa Lombardozzi of the Greater Herndon Community Coalition is not laughing however. In fact she is outraged! Her concern is that this game will encourage kids to play the college drinking...
Ignition set to publish a 16 title "SNK Arcade Classics Vol 1" collection for Wii later this year.
‘In the Arcade, the addictive quality of these games ensured that the money in your pocket didn’t last long’ Says Peter Rollinson, Product Manager, Ignition Entertainment ‘Now the only difficulty is deciding which game to play first’. Taking...
Wednesday11th Jun 2008
News Big Blue Bubble Interview - Home Sweet Home
Home decorating simulator Home Sweet Home is Big Blue Bubble's first title for Nintendo's WiiWare service. Keen to know a little more about this interesting title, we got in touch with the developer's CEO Damir Slogar, and asked him a few questions.
WiiWare World: Could you give us a brief history of your studio? What other notable projects have you...
News Wii Fit Inspires New YouTube Craze
And it’s one that we most certainly approve of
It may be harder to find than rocking horse shit these days, but Wit Fit is nevertheless causing quite a stir in living rooms all over the world. It seems that the fairer sex simply can’t get enough of it, and as if to illustrate this fact there’s been a flood of clips cropping up on YouTube...
News Most Popular WiiWare Games in North America (11th June)
It is always interesting to find out what the most downloaded games are on the WiiWare service. Reviews can only guide people so far, it seems that sometimes what people actually end up buying is a bit random, or a first party Nintendo game of course!
We did a report on this last week so this week we have data to show how games have moved in a 7 day...
News Strong Bad - Homestar Ruiner - Trailer #3
Join Strong Bad in his quest to find his Snake Boxer V videogame and save the world, or something like that!
Below you can find the third and most recent gameplay trailer released from Telltale Games today. For more information you can check out their dev blog and try out their “Payable demo” :p For those who like the look of this comical point...
News Watch Out For Crazy Legs!
Here's a fun press release we recently received from the guys developing Major League Eating: The Game which is coming soon to WiiWare:
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. –(June 11, 2008)–After consuming 15.1 slices of watermelon in just six minutes, “Crazy Legs” Conti was named the World Watermelon-Eating Champion on May 20. In a watermelon-eating...
Tuesday10th Jun 2008
Review My Pokémon Ranch (WiiWare)
Is this WiiWare release a Dude Ranch or a Dud Ranch?
My Pokémon Ranch follows the franchise’s long, tumultuous history of 3D games with questionable design choices and narrow appeal. Unfortunately, this WiiWare offering is one of the worst offenders due to its strictly passive “gameplay”, ineffectual features, and obtuse design. In fact, MPR...
Review Dig Dug (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Do we dig it?
Pac-Man wasn't the only popular arcade game Namco made. Aside from Galaga, Mappy, and others, there was also Dig Dug. In Dig Dug, your objective is to dig through the earth's soil and eliminate the monsters lurking within it. You can move through the soil (Thus creating tunnels) by simply moving around, but defeating the monsters is...
News Only Geeks And Otaku Want Extra Storage On The Wii
In a recent interview with Edge Magazine, Laurent Fischer, managing director of marketing at Nintendo Europe had the nerve to call Nintendo fans wishing for more storage space to download VC and WiiWare games “geeks and otaku”!
Here is a section of the interview directly from this month’s Edge: First Nintendo will not be concentrating any...
News Hands-On With Eternity's Child
Eternity's Child has traveled a long and troubled road to get to where it currently resides as an upcoming Nintendo WiiWare release. Loosely based on a mobile phone game, it actually started development as an Xbox Live Arcade title, but after a was later moved over to Nintendo's DS and Wii systems. Not long after that the DS version was cancelled and the game was officially announced for release on Nintendo's new WiiWare service. The game is probably best known for its unique art style - no surprise considering it's the product of eccentric Anglo-French artist and independent game designer Luc Bernard.
...
News Nintendo: "Hard Drives Are For Geeks"
If you asked the average Wii owner what they wanted most of all from life, a large percentage would probably say something like “heaps of cash” or “a naked mud fight with Angelina Jolie”, but there’s a chance many would also say “a Goddamn hard drive to store all my Virtual Console and WiiWare games on, please” before ranting and raving about how much Nintendo is screwing them over.
If you consider yourself to be one of those people then for the sake of your sanity (and possibly your crockery) please look away now, because Nintendo’s European Managing Director of Marketing La...
News Blue Oasis - Fishy Fun For All The Family
Blue Oasis (Hudson's virtual aquarium) official site has opened. You can see the promotional trailer below.
Details from the site : Customize your tank from scratch, including the glass, the scenery, the lighting, and the type of fishes that will populate it. You can choose among 40 species of fishes, and create 6 different tanks No advanced...
News Nintendo Reprise Edinburgh Interactive Festival
Nintendo UK to become a Gold Partner of this year’s event which takes place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre between Sunday 10th and Tuesday 12th August 2008.
Edinburgh Interactive Festival Chairman Chris Deering added: "Nintendo’s support of Interactive Festival in Edinburgh is great news and demonstrates an understanding...
Monday9th Jun 2008
News USA WiiWare Update: My Pokémon Ranch
A large number of our readers have eagerly been anticipating the release of My Pokemon Ranch on WiiWare. Well your wait is finally over as it is out today in North America. I am more of a 'Pokemon Italian Dressing' kinda guy myself, but I digress!
Watch out for our review coming soon! More from Nintendo's press release: Nintendo adds new and...
News Luc Bernard Talks Eternity's Child, Rose Princess and Uwe Boll
Luc Bernard’s Eternity’s Child has been on the WiiWare radar for some time now thanks to its gorgeous visuals and unique setting, so many people were surprised when the talented Anglo-French developer was interviewed recently and publicly stated that he was disappointed with his work.
We got in touch with this enigmatic young gent and asked him...
News US VC Releases - 9th June - NES Import Duo
If you've been pining for some more imports in the US, you're in luck today - There's two of them. You might think one of them was in fact released outside Japan, but the contrary is true - It, surprisingly, never was.
That game is Dig Dug, the arcade game from Namco where you control "Dig Dug" (Later officially named Taizo Hori), a digger...
News Nintendo Working On USB Devices – HDD Possible?
Although it falls way short of being an official confirmation of the fact, a recent ad on Nintendo’s job page hints at a possible USB storage solution appearing fairly soon.
The job spec is as follows: CONTRACT - Software/Hardware Tester Description of Duties Creating and executing a test plan for Wii’s USB devices Executing test plans with...
News "Geeks Want Extra Storage"
In what has been the slowest two weeks in Nintendo history this was the only worthwhile article we could find to interest you with. We liked the headline.
Speaking to EDGE, Laurent Fischer of Nintendo Europe dismissed the claims that the Wii is running out of storage space. In the interview he claimed "only geeks and Otaku" want more...
News You're Almost Alone In The Dark
The "wait" is almost over, Atari announce that the new Alone In The Dark title will be launched later this month in Europe and US.
Atari today announced that development is complete on the highly anticipated action survival game Alone in the Dark, and the game is on track to ship 20 June in Europe and 24 June in North America for Xbox 360 game and...
Review Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Oh baby!
Let's be honest, a platformer built around a tiny baby and his rattle doesn't exactly beam with potential from the start, so it's no small wonder that this game was originally rejected by Nintendo of America at the time it was submitted for release in the US. But if you look at screenshots of Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa and prematurely dismiss...
Saturday7th Jun 2008
News The Making Of The World Of Goo
There is no doubt that the upcoming World of Goo is one of the better looking games coming to the WiiWare service. Back in May when we interviewed David Braben on LostWinds you can see even he is bowled over by the looks of this game. Which makes sense because LostWinds also looks stunning and has great art direction.
So who is the genius behind the...
Friday6th Jun 2008
Review Magnetica Twist (WiiWare)
Does the intuitive Magnetica Twist have hidden depths that make it something to shout about?
It was always likely that WiiWare would provide the perfect platform for the criminally overlooked puzzle genre. These games have always been popular, but given their nature they are often unfairly ignored when sitting next to higher-profile releases such as...
News EU - 6th June - No Virtual Console Games!
When we got Paradroid during the week of the WiiWare launch, many thought we narrowly dodged a bullet (As the US and Japan both got no VC games at all with the WiiWare launch). Sadly, it seems Nintendo of Europe has decided to make us suffer through a no-VC-game-week after all, because that is the case today.
It's not as if the Wii Shop is unupdated...
News EU WiiWare Update: Actionloop Twist
Just one EU WiiWare release this week, and it’s the neat little puzzler Actionloop Twist (known in North America as Magnetica Twist).
Originally developed in 1998 by Mitchell Corporation (the guys who did Pang), Actionloop also goes by the name Puzzloop in Japan and has been copied under the name Zuma. So, chances are, you've probably played this...
Thursday5th Jun 2008
News North American WiiWare Top 10
Looking at the latest North American WiiWare top 10 it’s plain to see that the all-important ‘Mario effect’ is just as potent as ever.
For those of you that follow the fortunes of the Virtual Console service, you’ll know that Mario games regularly top the sales charts. In fact ‘regularly’ is probably the wrong word; ‘always’ is a...
Friday6th Jun 2008
News Ghostfire Games Interview - Helix
Since we don't have a lot of information about Helix, the upcoming release from Texas based developer Ghostfire Games, we recently contacted their CEO, Ed Roman about setting up a possible interview. Ed was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to do a telephone interview with WiiWare World.
Find out what he had to tell WiiWare World in...
Thursday5th Jun 2008
News Nintendo Barring Small Developers From WiiWare?
Wait a minute...
Remember when Nintendo announced WiiWare? Do you recall the grand spiel? WiiWare is a platform for small developers to really get their products out there and truly shine, you don’t need to be a big studio, yadda, yadda, yadda. Of course you do. It’s for this reason that many people got excited about the service; after all,...
News LostWinds Nominated For Develop Awards
WiiWare may only be a few weeks old but one of its titles is already gaining recognition from within the industry. The game in question is Frontier Developments' sublime LostWinds, which has been nominated in the ‘Best New IP’ and ‘Visual Arts’ categories in the prestigious Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Frontier has also been nominated in the ‘Best Independent Developer’ category.
Here’s the press release: DEVELOP INDUSTRY EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2008 NOMINEES ANNOUNCED The finalists for the Develop Industry Excellence Awards 2008 have today been reve...
News Yudo Announces Aero Guitar For WiiWare
A Japanese games company called Yudo recently announced that they're planning on releasing a music rhythm game for WiiWare. Aero Guitar will be similar to games such as Guitar Hero and Dancing Stage/Dance Dance Revolution, making you try to hit beat markers at the correct times using the Wiimote as a virtual instrument.
For now, it's unknown if...
News Strong Bad's Cool Game Delayed Until July
“A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever.”
Here's an interesting snippet of gossip from the guys at Kotaku. It seems they are best buddies with the Chapman’s of Strong Bad fame. Over lunch today Matt Chapman let slip the following about Strong Bad Episode 1 - Homestar Ruiner: The game is actually now getting pushed back...
Wednesday4th Jun 2008
Is this worthy enough to be remembered in the shoot-em-up hall of fame?
Protöthea originally started life as a PC game, developed by Digital Builders back in 2005. It pretty much went unnoticed at the time, so it seems like a strange choice for Ubisoft to use for its debut on the Wii as there's little here in the way of innovation other than the...
Tuesday3rd Jun 2008
Spielberg takes time off from resurrecting Indy to bring us the Wii’s very own version of Jenga
When someone like Steven Spielberg puts his name to a product you know you really should sit up and take notice. The world renowned director of Jurassic Park, ET and countless other films that have made a small fortune at the global box office,...
News D2C Games Interview: SPOGS Racing
Since the very first screenshot in Nintendo Power many of our readers have been itching to find out more about SPOGS Racing.
This looks set to be a fun arcade racing game, where you can smash into your opponents and steal their parts. Rather than playing as a whole car, you just play as a wheel – you can tell this game doesn’t take itself too...
News Where In The World Is Pop?
Poor old Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
After reading our review of Pop from the North American launch on the 12th May, we know a lot of you guys are itching to play this. Sure, you got a storming launch line-up with the first look at Dr. Mario and Toki Tori, but many of you were left questioning why the sublime Pop wasn’t released at launch,...
Review Ninja Combat (Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Ninja Combat is a scrolling beat 'em up featuring, as the title suggests, ninjas.
One of the first releases for SNK’s Neo Geo console, Ninja Combat is unsurprisingly a little rough around the edges. Graphically it’s not really a massive leap up from the likes of the SNES or Megadrive/Genesis (bear in mind that when this game was first published...
Monday2nd Jun 2008
News US VC Release - 2nd June - Ninja Combat
Minimal pickings
This week isn't very interesting for the US Virtual Console, sadly. It is suggested that this week you take a look at WiiWare instead. The only VC release this week is Ninja Combat for the Neo Geo. After seeing the success of games like Final Fight and Streets of Rage, Alpha Denshi decided to attempt a beat 'em up themselves. While...
News USA WiiWare Update: Protöthea And Toki Tori
Another week, another WiiWare update! Today North America gets Ubisoft’s Protöthea. We have to admit that this game intrigues us somewhat as we are big shoot-em-up fans. Graphically this game does look impressive, but it remains to be seen how good the game itself will be. Could the free scrolling gameplay be it's undoing? Watch out for our review which will be up in the next day or so to find out!
Also up for grabs is Toki Tori, a fun platform/puzzle game by Dutch developers Two Tribes. You will certainly get your value for money with this, the l...
News Family Gamer: Gaming Habits
Paul, The Family Gamer, Govan takes us through his recent Gaming Habits.
As we discover in family life, times and technology may change but people stay the same. Although protested in younger years, most discover that turning into their parents is somewhat unavoidable. It's not surprising then that through history people have always liked to play...
News Wii Music "Nearing Completion"
Wii Music is expected to be shown at E3 with a release coming pretty soon.
With the glut in popularity of musical games (cough Guitar Hero 583) Nintendo are putting finishing touches to Wii Music which was first shown at the initial announcement of the Wii many years ago. New information revealed by N-Europe today suggests that there will be 40...
Sunday1st Jun 2008
News Japanese WiiWare Goes Bubble Wrap Crazy
Pop til you can't stop!
When it comes to great inventions we all know that the Japanese create the wackiest things in the world. A good example of this would be the bubble wrap keychain. What kind of mind could have come up with something so bizarre? This little device not only simulates the stress relieving powers of popping bubble wrap but every...
News 100 WiiWare Games Currently In Development
WowWii
IGN recently did an interview with Tom Prata, the senior director of project development at Nintendo of America. We find out that 100 new WiiWare games are in the pipelines, what options are available to developers, size limits – and yes again the sticky thorn of storage is raised and avoided with the skill of a politician.. Have a read...
News Will MadStone Make The Earth Move For WiiWare?
RiverMan Media are quietly working on a falling block style puzzle game called MadStone which is headed to WiiWare.
Have a look at the screenshots on our Madstone game page or watch the video below. Here is a bit of blurb about the game from the developers which explains what to expect in more detail: RiverMan Media is thrilled to announce the...
