The Wii Balance Board is a pretty novel device, but it doesn’t provide players with complete realism. The FriiBoard, however, is looking to improve on the experience gamers have with titles like Shaun White’s Snowboarding.

“Built for the Wii™ Fit Balance Board and associated Wii™ motion-oriented games. You haven’t experienced Shaun White™, Tony Hawk™, or We Ski™ until you’ve snapped your balance board into our FriiBoard!™ Put new life into your old balance board games! Make all your games MORE REAL. Great for Kids and Adults alike.”

As the official description notes, the Balance Board fits right on top of the FriiBoard and you can expect the peripheral to tilt/move in a more realistic manner. It’s not exactly the safest peripheral, though. Just make sure that you’ve cleared all objects away from in case you fall off or get tossed to the side!

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– Developed by Monster Games (Excite Truck, Excitebots)
– 3D environments, 60 FPS
– Very similar to the original
– Can pull off a wheelie over opponents moving slowly
– Hit a vehicle to cool down your engine
– Japan, Mexico, London, US locations
– Numerous circuits for each
– Receive particular rankings based on performance
– Need A or B to progress, if you get a C you have to keep trying
– Also can obtain an S rank
– Two control options (up/down for changing lanes, tilt control to learn back/forth, second option is holding left/right on the D-pad to learn back/forward)
– Game keeps track of best times, notes which control option you used with an icon
– Can adjust camera to an angled view with A button
– Track editor just like the one in the original
– Can send tracks to friends through WiiConnect24
– Online multiplayer with friends or random players

Thanks to Rob for the news tip!

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“I tend to forget those games [laughs]. I’m a big fan of the ‘Star Fox’ games. Every time we make a ‘Star Fox’ game I’m hoping people will enjoy it as much as I do. Of course the goal every time is to try and make it more and more fun but, at least in Japan, the people that purchase the ‘Star Fox’ games has decreased over the years. But we still try to make them more fun and hopefully people will see the appeal in those games.”

This goes to show that the Japanese and North American markets have different gaming appetites. I really, really enjoy Star Fox, though. And Zelda is another example of a series being more popular in North America than in Japan.

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The latest software sales estimates in Japan from Famitsu have been released. Official Media Create numbers will be posted later this week. Also, we’ll be posting Famitsu hardware figures as soon as they are available.

1. [DS] Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver
2. [WII] Wii Fit Plus
3. [DS] Tomodachi Collection
4. [DS] Inazuma Eleven 2 Fire/Blizzard
5. [DS] Rune Factory 3
6. [360] Forza 3
7. [PS3] FIFA 10
8. [PSP] Shin Sangoku Musou 5 Special
9. [Wii] Wii Sports Resort
10. [PS3] Uncharted 2

KONAMI ANNOUNCES FROGGER RETURNS FOR NINTENDO WiiWARETMAND PLAYSTATION®NETWORK
Legendary Arcade Classic Hops Over to Consoles With Vintage Gameplay and 3D Graphics
El Segundo, Calif. – October 27, 2009 – Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced Frogger Returns for Nintendo WiiWare™ and PlayStation®Network. Based on the timeless arcade game, the latest iteration of Frogger delivers the addictive dodge-and-run gameplay fans know and love on an all-new platform.

In Frogger Returns, players are thrown back into the hustle and bustle of city life to guide their amphibious friend, Frogger, from the city back to his home marsh. Frogger Returns stays true to the classic arcade gameplay style, but is enhanced with improved graphics, a new camera angle, and new levels. Streets, sewers, subways, and numerous other obstacles and enemies are in play – all for the sake of keeping Frogger away from returning home!

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World Soccer Winning Eleven (PS3) – 9/9/9/9
Colin McRae: DiRT2 (PS3/360) – 9/8/9/9
Sakura Note (DS) – 8/7/10/8
inFamous (PS3) – 8/8/8/7
Mario & Sonic at Vancouver Olympics (Wii) – 8/8/7/8
3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3) – 8/8/7/7
NBA Live 10 (PS3/360) – 8/7/7/7

Mistwalker artist Watanabe may have provided a first look at the art in the company’s new game. The picture, which we’ve posted above, can be found on Mistwalker’s official site under the creator’s page.

Less than two weeks ago, Mistwalker boss Hironobu Sakaguchi said that he is “working hard on a new project” and that the development team is hurrying into the finishing stage. Also, a number of months ago, the company was seen with a Wii development kit in a picture posted on the Mistwalker website before it was edited out shortly thereafter. However, it has not been confirmed where this new game will end up.

Source 1, Source 2

Thanks to Ross M for the news tip!

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