Even though we’ve known about The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for quite awhile, Nintendo hasn’t been keen on sharing information about gameplay. There’s about a month and a half before the game launches, but for the most part, we’re in the dark. Shigeru Miyamoto still isn’t ready to talk about the title extensively, but he did recently provide a nugget of information about how Spirit Tracks will be taking advantage of the DS hardware.
“…What I can say is that with The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, which was was the first Zelda game released on DS, I think there were a number of people who played a Zelda game for the first time with that first DS game. And so what we’ve tried to do with Spirit Tracks is take that experience and enhance it in a way that takes even more advantage of the DS hardware and the features that it has to offer. And change it up a little bit with the ability to ride around with the train and have fun that way.”
…And Miyamoto teased the next Zelda Wii title.
“It’s really fun to move your body around.”
Traditionally, details from Famitsu magazine are leaked on Monday nights, before the magazine hits newsstands in Japan on Thursday. However, we’re still without information in spite of the fact that it’s Tuesday morning in North America. Because of this, a few Japanese gamers are running wild with a rumor that the latest edition of Famitsu has been delayed due to a Nintendo announcement. Of course, this would mean that the company requested that Famitsu hold back from sending the most recent issue out.
Shigeru Miyamoto is actually speaking at the Digital Contents Expo this Saturday, and what he discusses may or may not be connected to the rumored announcement. But because no one in Japan apparently has the most recent Famitsu magazine, I’m holding back on posting the review scores from the October 22 edition, as some of the scores might be fake.
Right now, though, you should keep in mind that all of this is complete speculation. There’s a possibility that there really is no announcement and that Miyamoto may not be talking about any new game(s) on Saturday. However, I decided to post this since a few of you have sent this tip our way. We’ll just have to see what happens over the next few days.
THE EVOLUTION OF A VIDEO GAME LEGEND CONTINUES!
TAITO Launches SPACE INVADERS EXTREME 2 Today
LOS ANGELES (October 20, 2009) – TAITO Corporation (TAITO®), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd., today announced that SPACE INVADERS EXTREME™ 2 has shipped to North American retailers today. Developed exclusively for Nintendo DS™, the game is a follow-up to the hugely popular SPACE INVADERS EXTREME, released last year.
SPACE INVADERS EXTREME 2 is an evolution of the legendary shooting game and a must-have for arcade fans everywhere, offering more strategic, immersive gameplay. Maintaining the simple premise that launched the popularity of SPACE INVADERS in 1978, this latest installment features pop-art visuals, an enhanced battle system, a challenging new time attack mode and an expanded gameplay progression. In addition to the ever-addictive single player modes, players can challenge their friends through multiplayer mode and compete on scoreboards with gamers around the world!
Limited Edition Black Wii bundle announced for Europe, including Wii Sports Resort and Wii MotionPlus
20 October 2009 – The Wii console is about to get an exciting new look as it launches across Europe in sleek black.
The black Wii will be available to buy in UK and Republic of Ireland from 6 November and mainland Europe on 20 November, and will come as a “Limited Edition” bundled with a Wii Remote, Wii MotionPlus and Nunchuk – all in black – as well as the exhilarating new Wii Sports Resort game and the original Wii Sports. The Wii Sports Resort black bundle will offer a total of 15 different sports to enjoy.
While there was good news to report in our last NPD post regarding Scribblenauts, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, and Muramasa: The Demon Blade, the same can’t be said for two significant Wii releases last month: Dead Space Extraction and Spyborgs.
Extraction, which launched in North America on September 29, sold just north of 9,000 units. Even though the NPD Group calculated data only from August 30 to October 3 (Extraction was in stores on September 29), it seems as though the title isn’t off to a good start at all (compare this data to Muramasa, which is an unestablished property) and reinforces what a Visceral Games employee said earlier today.
In other news, Capcom’s Spyborgs saw an absolutely dreadful debut. Numbers for the game fall somewhere around 500 copies sold in September. Like Extraction, the title wasn’t out for a long period of time, but considering it has already received a $30 price drop, it’d make sense to say that the game really didn’t sell particularly well in its first few weeks on the market.
In September, a few notable Wii/DS titles were released. Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Scribblenauts, and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days all came out last month. Exact NPD data for these games are still in question, but much more specific information is now available.
First, Muramasa: The Demon Blade evidently sold more than 35,000 units in September. Meanwhile, on the DS, over 193,000 copies of Scribblenauts were sold while Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days managed to move a little more than 201,000 units. These aren’t entirely terrible numbers, especially the data for Scribblenauts, which is a brand new IP. However, Muramasa’s performance is slightly underwhelming, but not terrible. It is clear now why all three of these titles missed out on the NPD top 10 sales for September, though.
Note: While the information isn’t 100% confirmed, I do trust the data which has been shared. The person with these figures has been very accurate with NPD sales in the past.
