It doesn’t look like Nintendo had much faith in the sales of Glory of Hercules. They only shipped 40,000 units to Japanese retailers. Within the first day of sales, the title wracked up 12,000 sold. Not bad, but not stellar. I don’t think Nintendo will have to restock the game very soon, if at all. This also doesn’t bode well for a localization of the game.
Super Famicom
– Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shougun Magginesu (Konami)
PC-Engine
– Fire Pro Wrestling 2nd Bout (Spike)
NeoGeo
– Ninja Combat (D4)
Japan
– Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP): 800,000
– Dragon Quest IV (NDS): 1.5 million
– Dragon Quest Swords (Wii): 490,000
– Final Fantasy IV (NDS): 590,000
– Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (NDS): 540,000
– Itadaki Street DS (NDS): 430,000
– Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates (NDS): 380,000
USA
– Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (NDS): 450,000
– Dragon Quest Swords (Wii): 110,000
– Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (NDS): 220,000
– Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates (NDS): 160,000
Europe
– Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (NDS): 280,000
– Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates: 150,000
– Final Fantasy III (NDS): 480,000
Since it was introduced, the Nintendo Wii system has been hailed as a revolution in video gaming because of its motion-activated controls that allow a player to participate physically. That’s all well and good when the motion is a tennis stroke. But what about when it’s a sawing motion, one used to separate a limb from a body, and the scene on the screen shows all the gory details? The game to attract scrutiny “Manhunt 2”, from Rockstar Games, the company behind the controversial Grand Theft Auto series, but it is already creating a stir. In the game, the player assumes the role of an escaped mental patient who goes on a killing spree. In the United States the game has received the most restrictive rating possible, ‘Adult Only’, from the nation’s Entertainment Software Rating Board . An AO rating, which is rare and typically applied to games with mature content, means nobody under 18 can buy the game. Critic’s argue that the combination of Manhunt 2 (the game noted for its “sustained and cumulative casual sadism”), with the Wii the game controller that’s so engrossingly interactive that it led to a multitude of video game incidents, provides far too much reality for the the young audience of video gamers, the under 18 set.”You can use a saw blade and cut upward into a foe’s groin and buttocks, motioning forward and backward with the Wii remote as you go.” 
“The more realistic and involving the game gets, and the greater the similarity between the action in the game and real life action, the stronger the negative effects would be,” says Joanne Cantor, a Wisconsin research psychologist who has spent 30 years studying the effects of media violence on children. “No, your son may not turn into a criminal. But exposure will take a toll on his life somewhere, probably in interpersonal relationships. These are subtle effects. They take time to surface. A teen isn’t going to notice them.”
David Finkelhor , co director of the Family Research Lab at the University of New Hampshire, says no game alone is going to drag a child into criminal activity. “It’s when you have other potentiating factors — family problems, mental health issues, extreme stress, dangerous neighborhoods,” he says. “Playing these games with or without the Wii enhancement is not going to take the typical teenage boy and make a killer out of him.” In fact, he says, in the 10 or 12 years in which violent video games have proliferated, the juvenile crime rate has gone down, as have school homicides.
“No question Manhunt goes beyo
nd the pale in terms of violence. I’m sure this one will be worse,” he says. “But that Wii interactivity adds an extra kicker to what happens in the brain is purely speculative. The Wii technology isn’t as bad as some folks say or as good as Nintendo wants you to believe.” Dennis McCauley, editor of gamepolitics.com says.
Just to be clear, however, the AO version will never see the light of day. Turns out, Sony and Nintendo won’t allow AO games on their systems.
(The Entertainment Software Rating Board gives the company 30 days from the time of the AO rating to resubmit for a lesser rating.)
“The Nintendo company is knowingly exposing our children to disturbing acts of foppishness right in our living rooms,” said Roberts of PAW. “Even more frightening, the motion-sensing technology teaches them that the only way to resolve conflicts is to flail their arms in acts of fruity aggression.”
Assuming the children are safe, is virtually disemboweling someone with the full body interaction provided by the Wii different than pressing a few buttons in other video game systems such as PS2? Of course, it is acceptable under the Constitution. What we’re pondering here is an image problem.
In the end, Nintendo and Rockstar’s parent company may end up having no choice but to meet somewhere in the middle.
Circuit City
Free $10 gift card with purchase of Deca Sports
Free $10 gift card with purchase of Death Jr: Root of Evil
GT Pro Series (Wii) – $9.99
Blazing Angels: Squadrions of WWII (Wii) – $9.99
Chicken Shoot (Wii) – $9.99
Cars (Wii) – $9.99
Kawasaki Jet Ski (Wii) – $9.99
Arctic Tale (Wii) – $9.99
Sonic Rush (DS) – $9.99
Cooking Mama (DS) – $9.99
Disney’s The Little Mermaid (DS) – $9.99
Star Wars: Lethal Alliance (DS) – $9.99
Namco Museum (DS) – $9.99
4 – Game Pack: Clue / Mouse Trap / Perfection / Aggravation (DS) – $9.99
Sea Monsters (DS) – $9.99
Pokemon Emerald Version (GBA) – $9.99
Sonic the Hegdgehog (GBA) – $9.99
3 Game Pack: Life/Yahtzee/Payday (GBA) – $9.99
3 Game Pack: Candy Land / Chutes and Ladders / Memory Game (GBA) – $9.99
Circuit City sales (5/25 – 5/26)
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) – $17.49
Deal or No Deal (DS) – $9.99
Showtime Championship Boxing (Wii) – $14.99
M&M’s Kart Racing (Wii) – $14.99
Target
Game Party (Wii) – $19.99
SpiderMan 3 (Wii) – $19.99
AMF Bowling Pinbusters (Wii) – $19.99
The Mario Kart Wii tournaments have been a bit disappointing to say the least, although the next one may actually be interesting. The upcoming tournament, according to Nintendo’s Japanese website, is supposed to spotlight one of the bosses from Super Mario Galaxy. While far from the best, it’s interesting to note that this will be the first time that users will see original content. The website also reports that the tournament should begin in early June.
A good number of people have awful memories of the Super Mario Bros. from 1993. The movie was, perhaps, the biggest reason as to why some cringed at the thought of a live Zelda film. A Metroid movie, however, has been believed to be in production for many months now. Another rumor has been spreading which involves the producer of the film. Rumor has it that Micheal Bay, who most recently finished work on Transformers, will be producing the movie. Currently, Bay has film related work up until 2010, in which three movies will be released in 2009 and one for 2010. In one year four movies that involved Bay were released, so it is possible that he could have other projects in store.
Thanks to Jolt and Ninty for the tip!
The DS homebrew scene has taken off dramatically since the system was released a few years back. The Wii may be headed in the same direction, as yet another stride was taken by the homebrew community. The Wii homebrew channel has been released without a time limit. The code takes advantage of the notorious Twilight Princess hack to execute homebrew programs. The channel acts similarly to all other Wii channels and can run all sorts of applications through a SD card, USB Gecko, or TCP. It is logical that Nintendo could release an update to block the Wii homebrew channel from functioning; however, the enormous support behind the homebrew community will, most likely, come up with a workaround.
Nintendo has opened up a new website to its fans (with the French gamer in mind) with all sorts of downloadable goodies for your computer. There are a number of wallpaper graphics up for download, in addition to instant messaging images, videos, and game packaging. So far, only Mario Kart Wii and Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney have content up to view, but it is assumed that Nintendo will produce more material for the website in the future.
