LONDON, ON – December 8, 2008 – Big Blue Bubble is proud to announce that Hockey Allstar Shootout was released today on WiiWare™! The release of Hockey Allstar Shootout marks the first hockey game on the platform and is destined to become an instant fan favorite amongst sports enthusiasts and casual gamers alike.
Use the Wii Remote™ as your stick and take the shot as you compete in 3 exciting hockey skills competitions. Whether you’re competing solo or challenging your friends, Hockey Allstar Shootout will put your hockey skills to the test.
428 (Sega, Wii)
– Saw the great Famitsu review, but not sure a live Japanese sound novel-type of game could work in the US.
Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness (Square Enix, DS)
– I personally would love to see this title brought over as I love SRPGs in general and especially the Front Mission series, but we will not be able to license Square Enix titles for the US.
Nanashi no Game (Square Enix, DS)
– Another seemlingly great game, but same situation as above.
Misa Yamamura Suspense: Kyoto Murder Files (Tecmo, DS)
Nishimura Kyotaro Suspense Shin Tantei Series: Kyoto Atami Zekkai no Kotou – Satsui no Wana (Tecmo, DS)
Nishimura Kyotaro Suspense 2 Shin Tantei Series: Kanezawa Kankan Gokkan no Kyoukoku Fukushuu no Kage (Tecmo, DS)
– Hadn’t heard of these titles before so will have to find out more information on them, but we likely won’t pursue adventure games on the DS.
Princess Maker 5 (Gainax, PSP)
– Not sure this would fit in with the rest of our product lineup.
RIZ-ZOWAD (D3, DS)
– This game looks great, we would love to work on it if we had the opportunity.
Summon Night 1 & 2 (Bandai Namco/Banpresto, DS)
– Though this is a solid series, if we were to ever work on the series I think we would prefer a more recent title.
Destiny Links (Bandai, DS)
– Hadn’t heard of this game before, will look into it.
Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier (Bandai Namco/Banpresto, DS)
– Great series, but probably tough to bring over for us due to all the various mecha licenses used in the game. Also not sure we could gather enough interest at retail as stores are hesitant to carry games based on anime unless it’s something popular on US TV such as Dragonball Z or Naruto.
Wii-kly Update
Two WiiWare Games and One Virtual Console Game Added to Wii Shop Channel
Neither sleet nor snow nor ice-cold winter winds shall keep Wii™ Shop Channel users from enjoying the best new and classic games. In fact, this week’s offerings include a hot new strategy-based puzzle game that promises to keep everyone in the household enthused, no matter how frightful the weather outside may be. Harrowing puzzles, hockey pucks and a world-famous hedgehog are all featured in the latest downloadable lineup, providing red-hot gaming thrills to counter the imminent December chills.
Nintendo adds new and classic games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:
SEGA launches new community and gaming site, boasting classic and newly created games exclusively available on PlaySEGA.com
LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO (December 4, 2008) – SEGA Europe Ltd. and SEGA® of America, Inc. today launched PlaySEGA™, a completely new SEGA experience for all types of gaming and social networking fans. PlaySEGA is based at www.PlaySEGA.com and is a mini web game portal with a selection of arcade, word, card, puzzle, quiz, Sonic and sports titles, which are available now and completely FREE to all PC and Mac users.
PlaySEGA has an impressive assortment of titles available on the site including Brain Assist™, which was originally released for the Nintendo DS™, and the successful mobile title, Sonic at the Olympic Games™. Brand new SEGA games that have been created exclusively for PlaySEGA are also available such as Ice Shuffle, Hollywood Adventure Quiz and Aquatic Word Burst. In addition, a selection of all-new Guest Games will soon be unveiled, all entirely FREE to each PlaySEGA user.
Satoru Iwata has stated that 800,000 Wii units were sold during the Thanksgiving week, and that’s only counting sales in North America. That figure is more than double the amount Nintendo sold last year. Iwata also discussed sales of the DS. While no solid sales figure was provided, he did mention that sales of the handheld were up 20 percent during the Thanksgiving week than compared to last year.
In a Japanese interview with 4Gamer, it was revealed that Capcom favorites such as Amaterasu from Okami, Phoenix Wright (that’s a joke…Or is it?), and others will not make an appearance in the recently released fighting game, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. In other words, there will be no hidden characters in the game and all characters have been already been discovered.
The reason behind the lack of hidden characters has been translated to, roughly, as the following: “We wanted to put a bang of all characters on the package.”
Best Buy
High School Musical: Makin’ the Cut (DS) – $9.99
High School Musical 2: Work This Out (DS) – $9.99
Lock’s Quest (DS) – $19.99
Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals (DS) – $19.99
Tony Hawk’s Motion (DS) – $29.99
Monster Lab (DS) – $19.99
Kung Fu Panda: Legendary Warriors (DS) – $19.99
Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii) – Free $10 gift card with purchase
Mario Super Sluggers (Wii) – Free $10 gift card with purchase
Rock Band Special Edition (Wii) – $99.99
Circuit City
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 All-Play (Wii) – $37.49
Nerf N-Strike (Wii) – $44.99
Rock Band Bundle for Wii – $89.99
Save $5 on all Wii Fit accessories
Little League World Series Baseball 2008 (Wii) – $24.99
Monster Jam: Urban Assault (Wii) – $24.99
Shrek’s Carnival Craze (Wii) – $24.99
Block Party (Wii) – $24.99
Super Mario 64 (DS) – $23.99
Target
Celebrity Sports Showdown (Wii) – $19.99
Hasbo Family Game Night (Wii) – $29.99
Psyclone Starter Kit for Wii – $34.99
Psyclone Starter Kit for DS Lite – $16
Free Wii Zapper with purchase of both Call of Duty: World at War and 007 Quantum of Solace
“The mere thing is that the graphics are now in higher resolution in comparison to the Japanese version so we were able to implement and present something that is more visually appealing.” – Oohashi Toshiro, D3 Japan’s Consumer Business Division
That’s a nice bonus for those who are considering purchasing this game in North America. I suppose there was a feeling that the North American audience would appreciate more impressive graphics.
Just a few days ago, a pretty big boss spoiler was discovered in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. The boss is actually the last boss that is faced in the game. Now, a clear video of the fight can be seen.
Head past the break to see the video. Again, most will probably consider this to be a spoiler so watch at your own risk!
