Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Videos, Wii | 1 Comment

Several years ago, Activision teamed up with Virtual Playground in hopes of creating a MMO of sorts for its music-based games. The goal was to have it connect with Guitar Hero 7, DJ Hero 3, future Band Hero titles, and more across Wii as well as other consoles.

Ultimately, we never saw the MMO – which would have carried the name “Hero World” – when Activision scrapped all of its “Hero” releases. Virtual Playground attempted to turn the project into different forms as a means of appealing to other partners and receive funding, but its efforts did not result in success. The company ended up filing for bankruptcy in mid-2011, four months after Activision pulled the plug on Hero World.

Take a look at the full report on the MMO from Liam Robertson and Unseen64 below.

More: Activision, Guitar Hero, Virtual Playground

Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Random, Wii | 27 Comments

Good Egg Galaxy is one of the very first areas players encounter in Super Mario Galaxy. Towards the start of the level, players can encounter a door to receive some advice. You stand in front of it to make a “Read” icon appear, and then press “A” to have a message displayed.

Tumblr page “Supper Mario Broth” uncovered a bit of craftiness Nintendo used here. Players are actually interacting with a signpost through the door, meaning Nintendo repurposed the sign for new functionality. By doing so, the developers didn’t have to create a readable door object from scratch. We’ve seen this sort of thing in other games before, but it’s interesting to see it here as well!

Source

More: Super Mario Galaxy

Posted on 8 years ago by Jake in 3DS, News, Wii | 0 comments

Vblank Entertainment, the developers behind Retro City Rampage, Retro City Rampage DX, and the upcoming Shakedown Hawaii, want to know what fans hope for/expect for the future of the series. If you want to potentially help steer the direction of the series, take the survey here.

Source

More: Retro City Rampage, Retro City Rampage: DX, Shakedown Hawaii, Vblank Entertainment

Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 2 Comments

The latest issue of MCV has a listing of the best-selling games in the UK for the month of February. The results are posted below, based on data collected between January 31 and February 27.

01 (01) CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS III (ACTIVISION BLIZZARD) – 107,600 / 2,053,000
02 (NE) FAR CRY PRIMAL (UBISOFT)
03 (04) LEGO MARVEL AVENGERS (WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE) > 71,600
04 (02) FIFA 16 (ELECTRONIC ARTS) < 65,900
05 (05) GRAND THEFT AUTO V (TAKE 2)
06 (03) STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT (ELECTRONIC ARTS)
07 (06) TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW 6: SIEGE (UBISOFT)
08 (NE) STREET FIGHTER V (CAPCOM) < 29,600 / NEW
09 (07) FALLOUT 4 (BETHESDA SOFTWORKS)
10 (NE) PLANTS VS ZOMBIES: GARDEN WARFARE 2 (ELECTRONIC ARTS) ~ 26,000 / NEW
11 (15) ASSASSIN’S CREED: SYNDICATE (UBISOFT)
12 (10) MINECRAFT: STORY MODE (TELLTALE GAMES)
13 (08) JUST CAUSE 3 (SQUARE ENIX EUROPE)
14 (NE) NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: ULTIMATE NINJA STORM 4 (BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT)
15 (12) MINECRAFT: XBOX EDITION (MICROSOFT)
16 (11) LEGO JURASSIC WORLD (WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE)
17 (16) DESTINY: THE TAKEN KING (ACTIVISION BLIZZARD)
18 (14) MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION EDITION (SONY COMPUTER ENT.)
19 (09) WWE 2K16 (TAKE 2)
20 (17) FORZA MOTORSPORT 6 (MICROSOFT)
21 (NE) POKEMON SUPER MYSTERY DUNGEON (NINTENDO)
22 (13) DISNEY INFINITY 3.0 (DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS)
23 (20) NEED FOR SPEED (ELECTRONIC ARTS)
24 (23) HALO 5: GUARDIANS (MICROSOFT)
25 (25) RESIDENT EVIL ORIGINS COLLECTION (CAPCOM)
26 (27) RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER (SQUARE ENIX EUROPE)
27 (22) THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE (BETHESDA SOFTWORKS)
28 (NE) DIGIMON STORY: CYBER SLEUTH (BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT)
29 (21) JUST DANCE 2016 (UBISOFT)
30 (19) UNCHARTED: THE NATHAN DRAKE COLLECTION (SONY COMPUTER ENT.)
31 (36) TERRARIA (505 GAMES)
32 (37) THE SIMS 4 (ELECTRONIC ARTS)
33 (35) WOLFENSTEIN: THE OLD BLOOD (BETHESDA SOFTWORKS)
34 (18) METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN (KONAMI)
35 (39) LEGO DIMENSIONS (WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE)
36 (32) LIFE IS STRANGE (SQUARE ENIX EUROPE)
37 (__) BATTLEFIELD HARDLINE (ELECTRONIC ARTS)
38 (31) BATTLEFIELD 4 (ELECTRONIC ARTS)
39 (__) NBA 2K16 (TAKE 2)
40 (__) KILLZONE: SHADOW FALL (SONY COMPUTER ENT.)

And here’s a breakdown of physical software sales by format (units)

PlayStation 4 – 514,365 (+36.45%)
Xbox One – 370,293 (+24.85%)
Xbox 360 – 132,699 (-44.65%)
PlayStation 3 – 72,036 (-54.80%)
Nintendo 3DS – 72,036 (-50.50%)
PC Software – 49,288 (-34.14%)
Nintendo Wii U – 34,123 (-15.10%)
Nintendo Wii – 10,110 (-47.89%)
PlayStation Vita – 6,319 (-67.43%)
Nintendo DS – 2,528 (-79.73%)

Source

More: Chart-Track, charts, sales, UK

Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 1 Comment

Update: At Target, all amiibo are BOGO 50% off.

Toys “R” Us is running a sale on Nintendo games (Wii U, Wii, 3DS) and amiibo this week. If you buy one item, you can get another for 40 percent off. You can head on over here for the games promotion page and here for the amiibo sale.

Thanks to Edward D for the tip.

More: sale, Toys R Us

Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, GameCube, General Nintendo, News, Wii | 2 Comments

During the 25th anniversary Sonic panel at SXSW earlier today, attendees were treated to a history lesson of sorts. The session looked back upon some of the franchise’s more notable installments as well as the Blue Blur’s appearance in other games – including the Mario & Sonic series.

Here’s what Yuji Naka, one of the creators of Sonic, had to say about those initial conversations with Nintendo:

“So yes it is true. Back in the day I did go to Kyoto to visit Nintendo and wanted to have a meeting with Mr. Miyamoto and figure out could we make a game maybe with Mario and Sonic together. Although those original conversations happened about three years before the Olympics game came out, we weren’t able to really make a game that featured Sonic and Mario back from that original conversation, but because we had those conversations, it kind of kicked off future conversations with Nintendo which afterwards led to the Olympic game coming out.”

After these comments, SEGA’s Aaron Webber asked if it’s because of Naka that we have Sonic in Smash. In response, Naka noted the following, as relayed by his translator:

“The original Sonic becoming a part of the Smash Bros. game was also part of that conversation. During the GameCube development for Smash Bros., he really wanted to get Sonic into that game, but it was just too late in the development process and couldn’t get it in for GameCube, but they did move forward and put Sonic in for the Wii version.”

More: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, top, Yuji Naka

Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Videos, Wii | 3 Comments

Liam Robertson is back with another report on a cancelled Factor 5 project. In a new video posted today, Robertson digs into the studio’s work on an open world Superman game in partnership with Brash Entertainment.

Factor 5’s Superman project was mainly planned for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. However, the company insisted on making a version for Wii as well. Brash only ordered for game for the PS3 and Xbox 360, but Factor 5 still wanted to work with Nintendo’s console even though they wouldn’t be paid extra. Had the Superman game materialized, it’s expected that the Wii version likely would have been a scaled back form compared to the HD counterparts.

Check out Robertson’s full report below.

More: Brash Entertainment, Factor 5

Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 7 Comments

Update 3 (3/9): Bumped to the top for the final time. All of the Nintendo Selects are now up on Best Buy.

Update 2: Bumped to the top again. The Nintendo Selects are up on Amazon Canada.

Update (3/8): Bumped to the top. Some, but not all, of the Nintendo Selects are now up on Best Buy.

Original (3/7): Later this week, a new batch of Nintendo Selects will be arriving in North America. The lineup includes the following games:

Wii U

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
NES Remix Pack
Pikmin 3
Super Mario 3D World

3DS

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
Mario Party: Island Tour
Yoshi’s New Island

Wii

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Animal Crossing: City Folk
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Super Mario All-Stars

All of these Nintendo Selects can be ordered from Amazon here. They’ll be priced at $19.99 each. Note that they’ll be down to $16 for Prime members.

More: Nintendo Selects

Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, Videos, Wii, Wii U | 8 Comments

The folks over at Smosh have once again produced an “honest trailer” for a game. This time, the video focuses on Zelda: Twilight Princess. Check it out below.

More: fan video, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 10 Comments

Activision is using its Skylanders franchise to support the millions of families affected by autism. Through one-of-a-kind toys, Skylanders and Autism Speaks are teaming up to raise awareness for an important cause during April’s Autism Awareness Month.

These toys are blue and white to reflect Autism Speaks’ official colors. The “Power Blue” Skylanders SuperChargers feature Splat and Trigger Happy, along with their SuperCharged vehicles Splatter Splasher and Gold Rusher. The full set appears in-game as their special colors. The toys are actually on store shelves in the United States and Europe now, with Canada to follow on April 1.

Activision is also extending its plans to promote Autism Awareness Month through the following activities:

– Launching employee education and employee-donation matching programs
– In recognition of World Autism Awareness Day, employees will have the opportunity to participate in the Autism Speaks Walk on April 2 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena
– Making donations to non-profits that are making a difference in the autism community

Source: Activision PR

More: Activision, Skylanders Superchargers, Vicarious Visions