Is Wii U a next-gen system? That’s what some people have been debating. One group will say no, while another will say yes. It doesn’t help that there are developers out there who are labeling the console as a stop gap in-between generations.

However, EA Sports general manager of football Cam Weber ultimately believes that the Wii U is a true next-gen system.

When Weber was asked by Game Informer if he really sees the system as a next-gen platform, he said:

“Absolutely. It’s a [new] platform with a new controller input, so we’ll do everything we can to deliver an experience that will take advantage of the hardware for that consumer.”

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The UK Nintendo Channel has outed the European release date for “Art of Balance Touch!”. Shin’en WiiWare to 3DS port will arrive hit the eShop on May 24.

A North American release date hasn’t been announced, but we’re hoping it’s not too far away.

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Shin’en is one of the most dedicated and technically capable Nintendo developers, and they’ve been making games for many, many years now. We’ve seen the company pull off some impressive visuals on the Game Boy Advance, DS, WiiWare, and 3DS.

When the GBA was still alive and kicking, Shin’en was working on a racer that incorporated 3D polygons. Shin’en boss Manfred Linzner feels that the studio’s prototype was “amazing”, but it was shelved “because we had too much retail work to do at that time.”

According to Linzner:

“We had a racing game on GBA that used 3D polygons. We still have that prototype – and it’s amazing – but it was never finished because we had too much retail work to do at that time.”

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The following digital content will be made available in Japan next week:

Nintendo 3DS | eShop Original Software, Downloadable Content and Demos

Nikoli Puzzle: Hashi o Kakero (Hamster | ¥500) Upcoming (05/09)
Fire Emblem: Awakening DLC (Nintendo)
I Den – Red Vs. Blue: The Seal Chapter (¥350) Upcoming (05/10)

Wii | Virtual Console

The Super Spy (D4 Enterprise | Neo Geo | 900 Points) Upcoming (05/08)

Nintendo DSi | DSiWare

Kouenji Joshi Soccer: Aru Seishun no Monogatari (Starfish SD | 800 Points | ¥800) Upcoming (05/09)
Fushigi na Ten Tsunagi: Shouwa – Youjouhan Monogatari Hen (Collavier | 500 Points | ¥500) Upcoming (05/09)

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XSEED is on track for a spring release… so it should be out by June 19!

European 3DS owners are still waiting for one of the best eShop games, Mutant Mudds. The good news is that it could hit the digital store in the very near future.

Renegade Kid has sent material to PEGI/USK so that the game can receive a rating. Once the process is finished, Mutant Mudds will be submitted to Nintendo of Europe for approval. Company co-founder Jools Watsham speculates that the title could arrive in a month or so if all goes well.

He wrote on Twitter:

“Wow, that a process. Materials have FINALLY been sent off to PEGI and USK. Should hear back from them in about 10-ish days… … and THEN we get to submit to Nintendo of Europe for approval. Weeee! Mutant Mudds Europe, that is … It could take 10 days for PEGI/USK. And then take another 10 days for Nintendo to approve. Then released a week or 2 after that.”

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Cambridge, Mass. – May 4th, 2012– Harmonix today announced that three tracks from Rage Against the Machine are headed to the Rock Band ™Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Wii™.

Rock Band provides the deepest and best selection of artists, songs and albums through the Rock Band music platform, which features more than 1,400 artists and more than 3,500* tracks via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at www.rockband.com/songs). Rock Band’s gigantic music library dwarfs that of any other rhythm video game on the market. More than 100 million songs have been sold through the Rock Band Music Store since its launch on Nov. 20, 2007.

Tracks downloaded from the Rock Band Music Store are compatible with the award-winning full-band Rock Band 3 experience, as well as the upcoming controller-based Rock Band Blitz, coming summer of 2012 for Xbox LIVE® Arcade and PlayStation®Network!

Rock Band DLC Additions for Xbox 360 Wii and PlayStation®3 system

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Nnooo’s first WiiWare project wasn’t Pop. Prior to this, the studio was considering an idea for a game titled “Blast”. Although it was up and running, Nnooo felt “it was proving too big a game for two people to achieve”.

Blast was shelved, but Nnooo’s Nic Watt told ONM that the studio would be interested in revisiting the project.

According to Watt:

“We were working on a title before Pop called Blast that we had running, but it was proving too big a game for two people to achieve, so we decided to focus on something smaller for the WiiWare launch. We hope to return to Blast sometime in the future.”

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