25-year-old Clinton Echols was taken into custody on Thursday under suspicion that he shot his friend, Luis Urbina, while playing a war video game. Echols was initially taken in for questioning on Wednesday and was later released, but as the story unraveled, police arrested the man. Echols failed to call the police immediately and sadly, by the time assistance arrived, it was too late to save Urbina. This, coupled with other dubious claims in Echols’ explanation led to his arrest. Echols said that he was showing off his gun while the two were playing video games, though it was accidentally fired and resulted in a bullet hitting his friend in the chest.
It is unclear at this time if video games took on a more prominent role than Echolos was willing to let on, if it really was an accidental shooting, or something else entirely. An autopsy was scheduled for Echols’ body on Thursday and could lead to further answers. Both men were sailors and served on the USS Ronald Reagan.
The DSi launched late last year in Japan and now other territories have had a chance to get their hands on the system. Not everyone is a complete fan of the handheld, though. Those struggling with the decision to make a purchase are probably considering what makes the system a must-buy. Well, here are our top 5 reasons.
Physical changes
It’s amazing to see how far the DS had advanced cosmetically. The DS Phat was a monster of a system – It was bulky, unstylish, and downright unattractive. The DSi continues to make improvements in terms of physical appearance with advances such as bigger screens. The system also weighs a little bit less than the DS Lite and comes with a slightly larger stylus. Other changes include a relocation of the power button so that you don’t turn the system off accidentally and a matte finish so that fingerprints are less noticeable.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg, there are new graphical technologies we’ve already developed that came along too late to include in The Conduit.” – Matt Corso, High Voltage Software
What we’ve seen thus far in Super Mario Galaxy and The Conduit have already impressed me, but this is really great news for Wii owners searching for games with more higher-quality graphical effects. If more can be squeezed out of the system, there will probably be less complaint’s about how titles look – that is, if developers take advantage of everything the system has to offer.
PictureBook Games: A Pop-Up Adventure was rated by the USK with Nintendo of Europe listed as the publisher.
The USK also rated Karate Phants – a beam’em up title for WiiWare. Snap Dragon is developing the game.
DSiWare
1 – Nintendo DSi Browser
2 – WarioWare: Snapped!
3 – Bird & Beans
4 – Master of Illusion Express: Funny Face
5 – Art Style: AQUIA
6 – Brain Age Express: Math
VC
1 (1) – Super Mario Bros. 3
2 (2) – Super Mario Bros.
3 (8) – Super Punch-Out!!
4 (3) – Super Mario World
5 (4) – Super Mario Bros. 2
6 (5) – Punch-Out!!
7 (6) – The Legend of Zelda
8 (7) – Pac-Man
9 (10) – Super Mario 64
10 (9) – Mario Kart 64
11 (12) – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
12 (11) – Donkey Kong
13 (13) – Donkey Kong Country
14 (14) – Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
15 (15) – Sonic the Hedgehog 2
16 (18) – The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
17 (17) – Galaga
18 (16) – Excitebike
19 (20) – Paper Mario
20 (19) – Tecmo Bowl
WiiWare
1 (1) – World of Goo
2 (2) – My Aquarium
3 (3) – Tetris Party
4 (4) – Bit.Trip Beat
5 (5) – Onslaught
6 (6) – Dr Mario Online Rx
7 (8) – My Pokémon Ranch
8 (7) – Cue Sports – Pool Revolution
9 (11) – Pop’Em Drop’Em SAMEGAME
10 (9) – Brain Challenge
11 (10) – Fun! Fun! Minigolf
12 (11) – Defend Your Castle
13 (14) – Target Toss Pro: Bags
14 (13) – Midnight Bowling
15 (15) – Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King
16 (16) – Wild West Guns
17 (17) – Bomberman Blast
18 (18) – TV Show King
19 (19) – Sandy Beach
20 (20) – Tiki Towers
1. Ryu Ga Gotoku 3 (Yakuza 3) PS3
Launch: 2/26/09
March Period Sales: 459,786 units
Life-To-Date Total: 459,786 units
2. Resident Evil 5 PS3
Launch: 3/5/09
March Period Sales: 428,545 units
Life-To-Date Total: 428,545 units
3. Shin Sangoku Musou MULTI RAID PSP
Launch: 2/26/09
March Period Sales: 355,784 units
Life-To-Date Total: 355,784 units
4. Mario & Luigi RPG3!!! DS
Launch: 2/11/09
March Period Sales: 189,227 units
Life-To-Date Total: 467,891 units
5. Super Robot Taisen K DS
Launch: 2/30/09
March Period Sales: 169,547 units
Life-To-Date: 169,547 units
6. Musou OROCHI Z PS3
Launch: 3/12/09
March Period Sales: 161,259 units
Life-To-Date: 161,259 units
7. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP the Best) PSP
Launch: 10/30/08
March Period Sales: 125,891 units
Life-To-Date: 555,422 units
8. 7th Dragon DS
Launch: 3/5/09
March Period Sales: 115,485 units
Life-To-Date: 115,485 units
9. Resident Evil 5 Xbox 360
Launch: 3/5/09
March Period Sales: 101,874 units
Life-To-Date: 101,874 units
10. Wii Fit
Launch: 12/1/07
March Period Sales: 89,807 units
Life-To-Date: 3,268,906 units
SAN FRANCISCO – April 9, 2009 – Today Ubisoft announced that the Rabbids will receive their own standalone brand with the Holiday 2009 release of the comedy-adventure Rabbids Go Home. Developed by Ubisoft Montpellier, the team behind Beyond Good & Evil®, Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie and the original Rayman Raving Rabbids®, the game will benefit from a new engine designed specifically for the Wii(TM) home video game system from Nintendo, offering the Rabbids a hilarious adventure in a brand new universe.
