Just as with any licensing agreement, there comes a time when a certain content distributor is o longer legally allowed to sell the content they licensed from a particular third party. Such a day has come for Rock Band creator Harmonix, as they will be yanking the much-loved ‘Metallica’ from their store– or at least, one pack of their songs that was released for players to download.

“Metallica Pack 01” (including such hits as ‘Ride the Lightning’ and ‘Blackened’) is now unavailable from the console-accessed ‘Rock Band Music Store’, and soon it will also be removed from first-party marketplaces as well. More songs will likely follow suit going into the next few months or years, but Harmonix says they’re looking to extend an “overwhelming majority” of content licenses they have to minimize the legalese’ effect on their customers.

Via IGN

Nintendo has yet to announce a North American release date for Game & Wario. However, if GameFly is to be believed, the Wii U title is set for June 30.

We typically don’t put much stock into retailer discoveries, but GameFly tends to be correct in most instances. You may remember that the release date and name for Mario Tennis Open were leaked through GameFly prior to Nintendo’s official announcement.

Source

As you can see above, this survey sent out by Nintendo’s customer service asks whether or not folks would buy first party Wii Remote charger packs from the Big N, and, subsequently, if they would pay $40 for a single battery pack, charging cradle, and other accessories. The most interesting bit of the survey is that they’re touting a potential 13 hours of use after just 90 minutes of charging, which is something I would love to have!

I’m not sure if I’d pay $40 for just one battery pack though, even if it did come with the cradle, cases, etc. I’d need at least two with the purchase…

GoNintendo via IGN

This week, Famitsu has first information about a couple of new monsters in Monster Hunter 4.

Garara Ayala, according to the magazine, is a snake dragon creature with a giant body. Famitsu also shows Kunchuu in the pages of its latest issue. The creature is a small rhinoceros beetle that tends to gang up on its prey in large group. Typically, it feeds on Yian Kut-Ku.

Famitsu additionally has a first look at the “Unknown Sea of Trees”. Players will encounter Nora Otomo and Piggie at this field.

Thanks to Jake for the tip.

Source

This week’s Famitsu review scores are as follows:

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 (PS3/360) – 10/10/10/9
Tomodachi Collection: New Life (3DS) – 9/9/9/9
7th Dragon 2020-II (PSP) – 9/9/9/9
Amnesia Crowd (PSP) – 8/8/8/8
Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel (PS3/360) – 8/7/7/7
Getsuei no Kusari: Sakuran Paranoia (PSP) – 7/7/7/7
Oshare De Kawaii Koinu To Asobo! -Machi Hen- (3DS) – 7/7/7/7
Jansei Gakuen Chrono Magic (PSP) – 6/7/5/7

At this rate, the Wii U won’t be getting any games from publisher Deep Silver. That would mean no Saints Row, no Metro, and no Dead Island – just to name a few.

Deep Silver COO Geoff Mulligan told Game Informer this month that the company has no plans for the Wii U “in the near or foreseeable future.” It’s all about the console’s audience apparently, which is apparently not who Deep Silver targets.

Mulligan told the magazine:

“Not Wii U. With other companies, I’ve been very successful with Nintendo. With Wii U, the Nintendo market right now and their audience is not who we reach best. It’s not something we’re entertaining in the near or foreseeable future.”

Source, Via

Armature Studio is on the rebound. After releasing just one game – Metal Gear Solid HD Collection for PS Vita – and the recent news of Maverick Hunter X’s cancellation, we learned that the company is hard at work on Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate for Warner Bros.

Blackgate isn’t the only title Armature is making. According to a press release covering today’s Arkham Origins announcement, the studio is “working on multiple titles.”. What else could the team be creating?

Hey, it’s the return of R.O.B. the robot! Okay, not quite, but Nintendo did submit an interesting patent related to a “remotely controlled mobile device control system.”

At the heart of the patent, Nintendo would be able to include a Wiimote-like controller inside a “remote controlled toy”. The device could then be paired with a console for new kinds of functionality.

Patents often don’t see the light of day, so this could be nothing more than an idea from Nintendo. It’s intriguing nonetheless!

Source

Fantasy Life has moved close to 300,000 units, Level-5 has confirmed. CEO Akihiro Hino provided Nikkei Trendy Net with the update in a recent interview. Shipped doesn’t necessarily mean sold, but Level-5’s new IP certainly seems to be performing well in Japan.

More Fantasy Life content is expected in the future. Level-5 is currently readying a big update for the game, and the company previously revealed intentions to turn the IP into a complete franchise.

Source, Via

Update: Having just seen the Spanish press release, this does appear to be the real deal.

So this is rather odd. Runner2 is supposedly due out on the European Wii U eShop this Thursday, despite the fact that it wasn’t mentioned in the weekly Nintendo Download press release.

The news comes from Revogamers, who says that Nintendo and Gaijin Games are launching the title in celebration of iDÉAME. It could be coming, but we won’t know for sure until Thursday. If we don’t see it this week, perhaps it’ll hit the European eShop next Thursday.

Source