REDWOOD CITY, CA — January 7, 2009 —Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced the next two titles to be released within the MySims™ Franchise. MySims™ Party and MySims™ Racing, available for the Wii™ and Nintendo DS™, will release in 2009.
“When we created the MySims world, we believed that the MySims characters could be part of a variety of different gaming experiences. We are thrilled to bring MySims Party and MySims Racing to fans and new players alike.” said Tim LeTourneau, Executive in Charge of Production for MySims. “We’ve had great success with MySims, with both the original game and this autumn’s MySims Kingdom. Players have really connected with the characters and now we are giving them two completely new and exciting experiences. We believe that MySims Party and MySims Racing, are great ways to couple the creativity and humor players love about the franchise with great multi-player arcade gameplay.”
Sequel to Popular Original Action Series Hits Retail Stores Nationwide
El Segundo, Calif. – January 6, 2008 – Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced that Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero has shipped to retail stores nationwide. Originally released for Nintendo Wii™ in 2006, the sequel to the popular original action series will now be available for the first time on the Nintendo DS™.In Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero, Kai’s father creates a magical bus that whisks Kai and Zero through mysterious worlds where they face a series of challenging quests to find, capture and befriend the magical Elebits. Elebits serve as energy sources in a far-off world where energy resources have been depleted. New to the Nintendo DS™, players use each of the Omega Elebits’ special powers to help solve puzzles, reveal hidden paths, freeze flowing water, turn darkness into light, levitate rocks, walk on water and much more. The 50 Omega Elebits, which are completely customizable by the player, increase in strength the more they are interacted with, providing the player with incredible abilities to solve tasks.
Konami oversees the return of a legend to Nintendo DS
Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has announced a February 13th release date for its forthcoming DS title Bomberman 2.Bomberman 2 marks the welcome return of Hudson Soft’s evergreen bomb-toting hero and will sees the popular franchise undergoing a visual make-over and a wealth of new elements to the gameplay. While the familiar basis of laying bombs to eradicate patrolling foes remains intact, Hudson Soft has expanded it across a more open format, creating a deeper title that maintains the addictive nature the series is famed for.
A more open play area contributes greatly to the action, and the player is now charged with completing set missions within the ever-decreasing time limit. These include simple tasks such as destroying a set number of blocks within a short time frame, through to escaping from a level or blowing up specific energy cores. Multiple bombs and a wealth of power-ups can also be collected, while the series’ huge bosses make a welcome return – testing the player’s accuracy and use of timed detonations.
Bomberman 2 can also be customised, with players able to change the main hero’s appearance and capabilities as new items become available, with over 160,000 possible additions on offer. Likewise, the series’ famed multi-player aspect has been enhanced, with the new game enjoying a four-player Versus mode via either the Wi-Fi connection, while up to eight can compete via the Wireless service.
Reggie Fils-Aime must be on a high right now. Things couldn’t be any better at Nintendo and the man is still kicking ass and taking names while working as the President of Nintendo of America. Reggie certainly has a huge influence on the company, so one might be wondering what type of gamer he is. Well, he says he’s not a hardcore or casual gamer.
“The labeling of “core” and “casual” implies one is better than the other and just builds more divisions between people. I’m a game player. We’re all game players. If I had to classify myself into a category, I’d say I’m a competitive game player. I’m going to do my best to knock your kart off the track in Mario Kart DS, crush you at tennis in Wii Sports, head more soccer balls than you in Wii Fit, pay off my mortgage before you do in Animal Crossing: City Folk and out-strategize you in Advance Wars: Days of Ruin.”
Reggie also commented on a few other interesting issues, specifically if Nintendo listens to its fans and if the company is interested in creating new IPs:
“We listen to our fans all the time. Nintendo fans are some of the most passionate in the world, and believe me, they make their opinions heard. We’re not claiming our way of doing things is better or worse than anyone else – it’s just different. We’re on record for each of the items you cite, so I won’t rehash all that here. But I will say that we listen very closely to what people have to say, both pro and con, and keep those feelings in mind as we plan ahead. For example, as you know, we recently launched Club Nintendo here in North America to reward our fans for their loyalty. I know everyone here always envied Japan and Europe fans for the cool Nintendo items they had, and now we’re getting some of our own.
We’re always developing new games and experiences and part of that includes looking at whether it makes sense to create new franchises and new characters. Some gamers want completely new games, while others want another Mario or Zelda game the minute they finish playing the one that just came out. Striking that balance keeps us all very busy! Nintendo makes games for everyone, so you’ll find everything from E-rated to M-rated titles.”
– Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
– Pingu’s Wonderful Carnival
– Snoopy DS: Let’s Go Meet Snoopy and His Friends
The World Hobby Fair will begin on January 18th in Osaka.
“When initially released, [Nintendo] seemed as if they were purposely going after a more casual market. Once publishers (and developers) realized the hysteria that followed, a lot of shovel wear was thrown at the system that would turn any proper hardcore gamer off. But the system is capable of doing some tremendous things, and there is definitely enough of gamers out there who are eager for some real games. For an indie developer, it is actually a great platform to introduce a new IP. We hope that Nintendo supports more third-party developers so quality content can be added to their console.” – Mushroom Men lead developer
Over the next few months, I believe we’ll begin to see more and more hardcore Wii games. The Conduit, MadWorld, Deadly Creatures, and more are all on the way – and I don’t think it’ll stop there.
A 6-year-old boy from Virginia somehow managed to get the keys to his family’s car and take a drive to his school on Monday (and put his experience of driving in video games to the test).
The boy, whose name has yet to be released, missed his bus but was still intent on arriving to school somehow. With knowledge of driving from Grand Theft Auto and Monster Truck Jam in mind, the boy drove a 2005 Ford Taurus about six miles towards his school and completed a few 90-degree turns before crashing.
Miraculously, the boy suffered just minor injuries. The poor kid, who seemed almost hellbent on completing his mission, began walking to school after he exited the car. County Sheriff Chuck Wilkins said, “When he got out of the car, he started walking to school. He did not want to miss breakfast and PE.” After crashing, the boy told police that his “driving experience” came from playtime of Grand Theft Auto and Monster Truck Jam video games. Isn’t it a bit strange that the boy’s parents allowed their 6-year-old to play an M-rated game?
Although he missed breakfast and perhaps PE as well, the boy was able to return to school after he was checked at a local hospital for injuries.
The story isn’t so bright for the boy’s parents. His mother and father were charged with child endangerment. The mother was asleep when the boy grabbed the keys and drove off on his adventure. As of now, the boy and his 4-year-old brother have been placed in protective custody.
