Cammie Dunaway on the stalling sales of Wii…

“Let’s talk about the U.S., and let’s break it down into the separate platforms. So, speaking first about the Wii–what’s important to understand is that in 2008, we sold 10 million units of the Wii, which was a record for any console ever in history. And so it’s a high mark.

What’s also important to understand is that the pacing of our software this year was quite different than it was in 2008. In 2008, our big titles were released early in the year. And this year’s huge title, released a few weeks ago in October, Wii Fit Plus, is doing quite well. And then arguably, the largest title of the year, New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii, only releases Sunday [November 15]. So we believe that going into the holiday season, consumers will continue to look for the products they see as representing the best value and the most fun…”

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London (17th November2009) – Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix® interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces that the demo version of FINAL FANTASY® CRYSTAL CHRONICLES®: My Life as a Darklord™ for WiiWare™ is now available to download.

FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a Darklord turns the tables on players by challenging them to take on the role of the villain. As the daughter of the newly appointed Darklord, with a mission to take over the world, players must strategically place monsters and traps inside their tower to ward off invading adventurers. With this follow-up to the kingdom-building simulation FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a King®, WiiTM users can now enjoy the FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES world from an entirely new point of view!

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Tuesday 17th November/… FORMULA ONE™ fans around the world will get the chance to take to the virtual grid and emulate their heroes as F1 2009 on the Nintendo Wii™ and PSP® races into stores across North America today, sprints into PAL territories on 19th November and accelerates onto UK streets on 20th November. The PSP edition of F1 2009 will also be available as a download from the PlayStation® Store at launch.

The official game of the 2009 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP™, F1 2009 features all of the drivers, teams and circuits from the thrilling 2009 season. This will be the first time that drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel have appeared in a FORMULA ONE game and F1 2009 will also be the first game to include the 2009 FIA FORMULA ONE CONSTRUCTORS’ WORLD CHAMPIONS BRAWN GP as well as new circuits such as the Singapore night race and the stunning Yas Marina in the United Arab Emirates.

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From the Makers of Hotel Dusk Comes AGAIN, an Intriguing Crime Mystery, and Everyone’s Favourite Monster Breeding Game, Monster Rancher DS!

Letchworth, Herts.—November 17, 2009—TECMO KOEI Europe and Japanese developer Cing have partnered to produce two new Nintendo DS titles, AGAIN™ and Monster Rancher® DS. Both titles are slated for a Spring 2010 release in Europe.

AGAIN

From the makers of Hotel Dusk comes the new crime mystery title, AGAIN. Featuring a captivating story full of suspense, unexpected surprises and unique visual presentation, Cing’s latest creation takes the text-adventure genre to a whole new level.

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As we already know, Namco Bandai opened a new teaser site last week for a new RPG game. Over the weekend, some Japanese text popped up which stated, “that RPG will return.” The site has been updated once again today and provides a few more clues as to what this returning RPG is. Images of a lake, a volcanic area, a grassy area, and a sea with an old road can now all be seen. Additionally, there is some new Japanese text on the site such as “unknown world” and “solve a lost mystery.” Based on the design of the images, perhaps this is a new Tales title. We’ll find out for sure in three days.

Thanks to Thomas N for the news tip!

Source

– Freyr and Freyja are the two playable characters (siblings)
– Freyr has melee weapons (swords, spears, hammers)
– Freyja has range weapons (bows, magic)
– 300 weapons between Freyr and Freyja
– Before each mission, you choose which 3 weapons to bring with you
– Earn mana by defeating enemies
– Mana used for alchemy
– NPCs present throughout the missions (villagers, soldiers)
– Framerate fluctuates: Usually at 30 fps, sometimes goes up to 60 or dips to 20
– Very easy/easy/normal/hard/inferno difficulties
– Freyja can lock on to enemies with arrows (this number depends on the level of the bow)
– Magic decreases your amount of MP (defeat enemies to get it back up)
– Voice acting in the game
– Weapon customization path shown in tree diagram
– Team grouped at a lobby (think PSO)
– Name + meter shown above character head
– There will be some form of communication in the game, but nothing major
– You can choose to replay a stage with a different difficulty setting once you’ve cleared it
– Atmosphere comparable to the Lord of the Rings battle zone

Source

Wii Owners Get Their Resident Evil Fix as the Latest Installment to the Series Combines Frantic First-Person Arcade Shooter Action with 2-Player Co-op Gameplay

SAN MATEO, Calif. — Nov. 17, 2009 — Capcom®, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, today announced that Resident Evil®: The Darkside Chronicles is now shipping to all North American retailers for Wii™. The latest installment in the Resident Evil® franchise, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles is a follow up to the successful Resident Evil®: The Umbrella Chronicles that took the series’ infamous characters and storylines and turned the gameplay on its side with new on-rails arcade shooter gameplay. Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles takes this gameplay to a whole new level in terror as the camera now mimics the first person view creating a more dramatic and immersive horror experience.

The addition of a full 2-player co-op experience only adds to the game’s level of depth, as players can now shoot zombies with their friends throughout the game. Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles is rated M for Mature by the ESRB and has a suggested retail price of $49.99 at all major retailers across North America.
For a taste of the action, players can also check out Capcom’s Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles official interactive trailer at http://www.gametrailers.com/video/experience-the-darkside/57808. For the first time in a video game trailer, the audience will be able to engage in the action they see on screen by being able to shoot the zombies with a click of their mouse. Before players purchase the game, they can try it out at Gametrailers.com.

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This comes from WayForward’s official Twitter…

“Get ready to flip like a champ, PAL Land. Mighty Flip Champs releases this month! Actual date will be up shortly.”

Mighty Flip Champs is one of the better DSiWare games available right now. I encourage all of our PAL readers to pick it up once it releases!

Thanks to Robert for the news tip!