First NASCAR Game for the Wii Ships to Stores in Time for the Start of the 2009 NASCAR Season
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – February 10, 2009 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced that NASCAR® Kart Racing, the first and only NASCAR racing title available for the Wii™, shipped to retailers in North America today with an MSRP of $39.99. The game’s release coincides with this weekend’s Daytona 500 and the official start of the 2009 NASCAR season.Designed exclusively for the Wii, NASCAR Kart Racing enables all players, from hardcore to casual, to experience NASCAR in a brand new way. Grab the steering wheel as a famed NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver and speed through treacherous landscapes, wind around rocky cliffs, jump rivers and dodge falling boulders. Up to four players can go head-to-head, via split screen, in a mad dash to the checkered flag, making NASCAR Kart Racing an ideal game to play with family and friends.
Make a pit stop at your local retailer to pick up NASCAR Kart Racing and enjoy the thrill of racing as three-time consecutive Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson or choose from 13 additional NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers. Strategy is key when choosing a driver and a teammate, as each driver has personal attributes that will determine how the team will perform on a course. Teams that work together win championships!
Platform: Wii
Release Date: February 2009
Publisher: NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe SAS
Developer: NAMCO BANDAI Games
Category: SportsSUIT UP, CLICK IN, JUMP OFF AND GO!
Fresh powder, miles of pristine slopes and unstoppable winter fun drift onto Wii in this exciting, fun and feature-packed snowboarding and skiing sequel to the critically acclaimed Family Ski.
• ADVANCED SNOWBOARDING and SKIIING, perfect for BEGINNERS or EXPERTS!
• SOPHISTICATED GAMEPLAY and FUN & INTUITIVE with Wii
• 7,000 VERTICAL METERS across TWO HUGE MOUNTAINS
• Wii BALANCE BOARD provides an even more AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE
• OPEN ENVIRONMENT and FULLY INTERACTIVE with INCREDIBLE SCENERY
Addictive Puzzle Adventure available on March 17th, Features Multiplayer Gameplay, Wi-Fi Connection and Wii Balance Board™ Compatibility
SAN MATEO, CA – February 10, 2009 – Hudson Entertainment, the North American publishing arm for HUDSON SOFT, today announced that MARBLE SAGA KORORINPA has gone to gold master. An exciting puzzle adventure centered around an ant and his marbles, MARBLE SAGA KORORINPA is scheduled to be in stores on March 17th for an SRP of $29.99.
MARBLE SAGA KORORINPA is a compelling, entertaining title exclusive to Wii™, featuring 4-person multiplayer, tons of customization features, the ability to connect and compete online and the use of the Wii Balance Board™ accessory. The story takes place with players heading out on a journey with Anthony the Ant as he searches for the Golden Sunflower. By guiding Anthony’s marble around the Ant World and searching for items which are valuable to help reach the Golden Sunflower, gamers will help Anthony save his colony. Along the way players will face dangerous mazes and use cool and amazing gadgets to guide Anthony to his objective. With multiple levels to explore and three difficulty stages within each level, no area is ever the same.
WHAT: Tetris® Party Tournament No. 3 for WiiWareTM Players
HOW: Tetris® Party Tournament No. 3 will feature four rounds – Marathon, Field Climber, Shadow and Stage Racer.
Rounds one and two will feature the Marathon and Field Climber modes. Rounds three and four will require players to compete in the advanced levels. Shadow will be played in Stage 25 and Stage Racer will be played in the most advanced mode, Course T, for the shortest total time to completion.
To register, players should visit www.tetrisparty.com/tournament. This is also where they will input their confirmation code. The confirmation code must be entered on the site once for each round the player participates in. Each player’s rank will determine the amount of tournament points they receive for that round.
A few weeks ago, rumors surfaced that Mario & Sonic were heading back to the Olympics for a Winter edition. While SEGA is still offering the “no comment” response when asked about the game, director of licensing, Dennis Kim confirmed that a sequel is in the works.
Kim says that is is unsure which sports will be playable, but he is hoping that the sequel will sell as well as the original.
“Last year, 2008, they had a very successful game using Mario and Sonic at the Beijing Games, as well as a multi-sport simulation type of game. That’s what’s being discussed and planned for Vancouver. We are feeling optimistic about sales because of the Beijing experience.” The Province reports that “Sega will also produce a simulation game with more realistic portrayals of athletes and venues.”
Dragon Quest V
– 3 save files
– Can only show specific areas
– Square Enix being very protective
Retro Game Challenge/XSEED/Fragile
– Review going up today
– Turned out really well
– XSEED publishing the game
– XSEED apparently told Matt that people should buy the game because it’ll help them in their cause to bring Fragile to the US
– Fragile a Namco game in Japan – Matt thinks it’s a game Namco might want to publish one day
– Biggest downside in Retro Game Challenge is the localization – Fake game magazines you can read, in the back there are fake letters – one of the letters written in by Homer Sexual
– Craig wants a bit more creativity in their localization next time
– Fragile is in heavy Japanese but you can get through it
– Control in Fragile is pretty good, beautiful, storyline seems dramatic – Matt can’t wait to get it in the US
Good news: Japanese RPG Kizuna, which had been rumored to be canned at one point, has not only confirmed to still be in development but also has a planned “Spring 2009” release date for Japan. Speculation of the game’s possible cancellation began Jaleco Holdings stepped out of the gaming industry and sold off their business to Game Yarou. We now know, however, with a near 100% assurance that the game is still on track. Hopefully the title will be picked up by a publisher such as XSEED to bring the game overseas.
Not too long ago, rumored photos of the character model from a new Kid Icarus title were leaked. And now, a short video of the character in motion has apparently been discovered. As with all rumors, it’d be wise to keep a bit of doubt about the latest rumors in mind. Like last week, I’d like to reiterate that this is not 100% confirmed and this design may not have even been used as the final model.
Thanks to Josh for the news tip.
“As for Nintendo Power magazine, it has contributed greatly so far in selling NES and SNES, which Nintendo had to start from scratch in the U.S. Back then, publishing and distributing a monthly magazine was the most practical way to connect consumers and manufacturers. Now we have a much higher frequency of connecting with consumers online than traditional print publications. Online also has an advantage with lower cost and speed. As so many media are shifting from print to online, we also wanted to shift how we primarily connect with our consumers, and going from our paper publication, Nintendo Power, to online as the center of our message delivery efforts to our consumers. Part of the team that moved to New York included Nintendo’s web content team, and they are working with an increased number of staff.” – Satoru Iwata
