This week’s issue of Famitsu is a bit confusing. The magazine will be released on Wednesday this week instead of Thursday, as Monster Hunter Portable 3rd is releasing on the same day. Leaks generally begin on Wednesday night, but this time around, news has apparently arrived two days early. I haven’t been able to locate a single scan from the latest issue, but I still have a feeling that the scores below are legitimate. I’ve seen a ton of information that has been transcribed from the magazine (including complete review summaries), which makes me believe that we can trust the information. Still, just to be safe, we’ll mark this as a rumor for now.
Ni no Kuni (DS) – 10/9/9/10
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (PS3/360) – 10/9/9/9
Need For Speed Hot Pursuit (PS3/360) – 9/9/9/8
Shiren the Wanderer 5 (DS) – 9/9/9/8
Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii) – 8/8/8/8
TV Superstars (PS3) – 8/8/8/7
Kinect Animals (360) – 7/8/6/6
Ape Escape Fury! Fury! (PS3) – 7/7/7/6
Need For Speed Hot Pursuit (Wii) – 7/7/7/6
Pastel Chime Continue (PSP) – 6/7/7/7
Thanks to Thomas N for the tip!
Individual formats
– 1 GRAN TURISMO 5 PS3 SONY COMPUTER ENT. SONY COMPUTER ENT.
2 2 ASSASSIN’S CREED: BROTHERHOOD XB360 UBISOFT UBISOFT
1 3 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS XB360 ACTIVISION ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
5 4 JUST DANCE 2 WII UBISOFT UBISOFT
3 5 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS PS3 ACTIVISION ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
4 6 ASSASSIN’S CREED: BROTHERHOOD PS3 UBISOFT UBISOFT
6 7 WII PARTY WII NINTENDO NINTENDO
11 8 FIFA 11 XB360 EA SPORTS ELECTRONIC ARTS
13 9 FIFA 11 PS3 EA SPORTS ELECTRONIC ARTS
21 10 ART ACADEMY DS NINTENDO NINTENDO
7 11 WII SPORTS RESORT WII NINTENDO NINTENDO
8 12 NEED FOR SPEED: HOT PURSUIT XB360 EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
10 13 PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE LOST FUTURE DS NINTENDO NINTENDO
9 14 NEED FOR SPEED: HOT PURSUIT PS3 EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
12 15 KINECT SPORTS XB360 MICROSOFT MICROSOFT
15 16 WII FIT PLUS WII NINTENDO NINTENDO
14 17 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. WII WII NINTENDO NINTENDO
24 18 FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS XB360 BETHESDA SOFTWORKS BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
22 19 MARIO KART WII WII NINTENDO NINTENDO
17 20 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. DS NINTENDO NINTENDO
18 21 JUST DANCE WII UBISOFT UBISOFT
20 22 DANCE CENTRAL XB360 MICROSOFT MICROSOFT
19 23 FABLE III XB360 MICROSOFT MICROSOFT
16 24 FOOTBALL MANAGER 2011 PC SEGA SEGA
– 25 MICHAEL JACKSON: THE EXPERIENCE WII UBISOFT UBISOFT
– 26 RED DEAD REDEMPTION: UNDEAD NIGHTMARE XB360 ROCKSTAR TAKE 2
29 27 SONIC COLOURS WII SEGA SEGA
25 28 HALO: REACH XB360 MICROSOFT MICROSOFT
– 29 FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS PS3 BETHESDA SOFTWORKS BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
23 30 GOLDENEYE 007 WII ACTIVISION ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
35 31 SONIC COLOURS DS SEGA SEGA
– 32 RED DEAD REDEMPTION: UNDEAD NIGHTMARE PS3 ROCKSTAR TAKE 2
28 33 SUPER MARIO GALAXY 2 WII NINTENDO NINTENDO
33 34 WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2011 XB360 THQ THQ
39 35 FIFA 11 WII EA SPORTS ELECTRONIC ARTS
37 36 MEDAL OF HONOR PS3 EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
– 37 TOY STORY 3 DS DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
36 38 THE X FACTOR WII DEEP SILVER KOCH MEDIA
– 39 DISNEY EPIC MICKEY WII DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
27 40 F1 2010 XB360 CODEMASTERS CODEMASTERS
All formats
– 1 GRAN TURISMO 5 POLYPHONY DIGITAL SONY COMPUTER ENT. SONY COMPUTER ENT.
1 2 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS TREYARCH ACTIVISION ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
2 3 ASSASSIN’S CREED: BROTHERHOOD UBISOFT (MONTREAL) UBISOFT UBISOFT
4 4 FIFA 11 EA CANADA EA SPORTS ELECTRONIC ARTS
5 5 JUST DANCE 2 UBISOFT (FRANCE) UBISOFT UBISOFT
3 6 NEED FOR SPEED: HOT PURSUIT CRITERION GAMES EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
6 7 WII PARTY ND CUBE NINTENDO NINTENDO
27 8 ART ACADEMY HEADSTRONG GAMES NINTENDO NINTENDO
7 9 WII SPORTS RESORT NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
13 10 FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS OBSIDIAN ENTERTAINMENT BETHESDA SOFTWORKS BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
8 11 PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE LOST FUTURE LEVEL 5 NINTENDO NINTENDO
9 12 KINECT SPORTS RARE MICROSOFT MICROSOFT
11 13 WII FIT PLUS NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
– 14 RED DEAD REDEMPTION: UNDEAD NIGHTMARE ROCKSTAR SAN DIEGO ROCKSTAR TAKE 2
20 15 HARRY POTTER: THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 EA BRIGHT LIGHT EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
18 16 SONIC COLOURS SONIC TEAM SEGA SEGA
10 17 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. WII NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
14 18 WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2011 YUKE’S THQ THQ
21 19 LEGO HARRY POTTER: YEARS 1-4 TRAVELLER’S TALES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
31 20 MARIO KART WII NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
26 21 TOY STORY 3 N-SPACE DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
19 22 FOOTBALL MANAGER 2011 SPORTS INTERACTIVE SEGA SEGA
22 23 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
12 24 THE SIMS 3 EXIENT EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
16 25 MEDAL OF HONOR DANGER CLOSE/DICE EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
23 26 JUST DANCE UBISOFT (FRANCE) UBISOFT UBISOFT
17 27 F1 2010 CODEMASTERS BIRMINGHAM CODEMASTERS CODEMASTERS
15 28 STAR WARS: THE FORCE UNLEASHED II LUCASARTS LUCASARTS LUCASARTS
28 29 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2011 KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT KONAMI KONAMI
25 30 DANCE CENTRAL HARMONIX MICROSOFT MICROSOFT
24 31 FABLE III LIONHEAD STUDIOS MICROSOFT MICROSOFT
– 32 MICHAEL JACKSON: THE EXPERIENCE UBISOFT (FRANCE) UBISOFT UBISOFT
30 33 THE X FACTOR HYDRAVISION DEEP SILVER KOCH MEDIA
29 34 GOLDENEYE 007 EUROCOM ENTERTAINMENT ACTIVISION ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
32 35 HALO: REACH BUNGIE MICROSOFT MICROSOFT
36 36 GUITAR HERO: WARRIORS OF ROCK NEVERSOFT REDOCTANE ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
34 37 SUPER MARIO GALAXY 2 NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
– 38 VANQUISH PLATINUMGAMES SEGA SEGA
35 39 RED DEAD REDEMPTION ROCKSTAR SAN DIEGO ROCKSTAR TAKE 2
38 40 007: BLOOD STONE BIZARRE CREATIONS ACTIVISION ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
Acclaimed Hand-Held Adventure Series Returns with Rich Storyline, Immersive Dual-Screen Presentation and Rewarding Battle System
REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– The vibrant graphics, rich role-playing action and imaginative storyline of the original Golden Sun™ series for the Game Boy™ Advance system made it a hand-held gaming classic. Today, Nintendo introduces a fresh chapter in this acclaimed series with the launch of Golden Sun™: Dark Dawn. Available exclusively for the Nintendo DS™ family of systems, this bold new Golden Sun installment finds the descendents of the previous games’ heroes fighting to protect the world of Weyard from a mysterious and powerful threat.
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn takes place 30 years after the events of 2003’s Golden Sun™: The Lost Age, where the world of Weyard has recovered its vitality through the immense power of the Golden Sun. Continents have shifted, creating new nations and landscapes, and new species have emerged. But along with these changes, the next generation now faces new dangers. What begins as a simple journey turns into a dramatic quest to save the land from catastrophe as players are drawn into a world full of magical energy.
While the rest of your home might be cluttered with leftovers from a weekend of Thanksgiving revelry, this week’s downloadable games from Nintendo provide a palate-cleansing mix of fun puzzles and challenges to start your week off right. The popular Cave Story™ makes its debut on the Nintendo DSiWare™ service, while a demo version of the game becomes available for the WiiWare™ service. Other Nintendo DSiWare games include the frenzied Frenzic puzzler and Spot It! Challenge, which tests players’ ability to locate various objects. On the WiiWare service, travelers this holiday season will want to check out Airport Mania®: First Flight for a different perspective on the travel industry, while HB Arcade Disc Golf brings the popular outdoor sport into your living room. Finally, the classic 1996 NEOGEO game MAGICAL DROP II brings its balloon-bursting action to the Virtual Console™ service.
Value-Minded Shoppers Purchase 900,000 Nintendo DS and 600,000 Wii Systems
REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– When confronted with a wide range of Black Friday retail options, U.S. holiday shoppers again turned to Nintendo. Nintendo sold 900,000 combined units in the Nintendo DS™ family of systems and 600,000 Wii™ consoles between Sunday, Nov. 21, and Saturday, Nov. 27, according to the company’s internal sales estimates.
“U.S. shoppers bought about 9,000 Nintendo hardware systems nonstop for every hour of every day during the week of Black Friday,” said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “For the past several years, consumers have decided that Nintendo defined both top value and all-inclusive entertainment, and that sentiment continues again at the start of this shopping season.”
Recently, I was listening to an episode of IGN’s Game Scoop podcast. On there, ex-Nintendo editor in chief Craig Harris made an interesting comment that got me thinking. During a discussion about the PlayStation Move’s “modest” debut, Harris brought up how, while everyone is playing catch-up with motion gaming, Nintendo isn’t focusing on that element anymore. The examples he used included nearly all of Nintendo’s major releases for the holiday season, which are mostly traditional games with no special use of the motion controller. Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, and GoldenEye are those titles.
Professor Ryuta Kawashima has revealed that a new Brain Age game is in the works. Concrete details about the project have yet to be shared, however. He hasn’t been given the go-ahead to speak about the title, and the only piece of information Kawashima divulged is that it’s scheduled to be released in 2010.
Even with that bit of news in mind, it’s still possible that the game will end up on the 3DS. At first, the system was on track to be released in Japan this year, so Kawashima may have been unaware of the 3DS’s new launch date.
First, let’s take a look at the image below. It’s a photo of Billy Mitchell, who set a record for the original Donkey Kong and was one of the stars in The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters…
Next, let’s take a look at a picture taken of the monkey ruins in world 3-2 of Donkey Kong Country Returns…
That statue definitely looks like an homage to Billy Mitchell – It’s all in the tie. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have noticed if it wasn’t already pointed out. This makes me wonder if there are other neat easter eggs in Donkey Kong Country Returns.
LYNYRD SKYNYRD FOUR PACK, SINGLES FROM 38 SPECIAL AND BAD COMPANY COME TO ROCK BANDNEXT WEEK
Cambridge, Mass. – Nov. 24, 2010 – Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that four songs from Lynyrd Skynyrd, three of which feature Pro Guitar and Pro Bass, plus singles from Bad Company and 38 Special, both of which feature Pro Guitar and Pro Bass, will be available Nov. 30 in the Rock Band 3 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 800 artists and more than 2,000* 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. To date, more than 75 million songs have been sold through the Rock Band Music Store since its launch Nov. 20, 2007.
Rock BandDLC Additions for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 system and Wii
