Bob Hoskins, known for his role as Mario in the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film, has passed away. Hoskins was 71 years-old. Aside from working on on the Super Mario Bros. movie, Hoskins starred in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Long Good Friday, Brazil, Mona Lisa, and Mermaids.
This week’s Japanese software sales are as follows:
1. [PSV] Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment – 145,029 / NEW
2. [3DS] Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call – 80,523 / NEW
3. [3DS] Youkai Watch – 43,136 / NEW
4. [3DS] Mario Party: Island Tour – 15,654 / 320,489
5. [PS3] Dai-3-ji Super Robot Taisen Z: Jigoku-hen – 12,240 / 186,396
6. [WIU] NES Remix 1+2 – 11,079 / NEW
7. [PSV] BlazBlue Chrono Phantasma – 10,709 / NEW
8. [PSV] Dai-3-ji Super Robot Taisen Z: Jigoku-hen – 8,678 / 154,669
9. [3DS] Ace Attorney 123: Wright Selection – 6,473 / 33,398
10. [PS3] Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes – 6,444 / 204,498
11. [3DS] Kirby Triple Deluxe – 6,326 / 559,903
12. [3DS] Pokemon X/Y – 6,001 / 4,040,630
13. [3DS] Style Savvy: Trendsetters – 5,926 / 18,241
14. [PS3] Sengoku Musou 4 – 5,392 / 218,011
15. [PS4] Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn – 4,858 / 36,185
16. [PS3] Monster Hunter Frontier GG – 4,689 / NEW
17. [3DS] MapleStory: The Girl’s Fate – 4,203 / NEW
18. [PS3] Harem Tengoku da to Omottara Yandere Jigoku Datta – 4,101 / NEW
19. [PS3] Muv-Luv Photon flowers – 4,090 / NEW
20. [WIU] Just Dance Wii U – 4,000 / 33,934
The latest Japanese hardware sales from Media Create are as follows:
3DS LL – 27,914
Vita – 22,394
PS4 – 12,712
PS3 – 6,726
3DS – 6,073
Wii U – 5,710
PSP – 1,957
Vita TV – 1,548
Xbox 360 – 242
For comparison’s sake, here are the hardware numbers from last week:
Vita – 17,905
PS4 – 14,396
3DS LL – 14,023
PS3 – 6,468
3DS – 5,920
Wii U – 5,204
PSP – 2,094
Vita TV – 1,133
Xbox 360 – 240
Below are the latest details available for Mario Kart 8:
– Once again, Baby Rosalina and Pink Gold Peach are in
– Crazy 8 item is the spiritual successor to Mario Kart 7’s Lucky 7
– Super Horn: emits a sonic blast around your kart
– This pulse can knock out other racers or ward off Green, Red, and Blue Shells
– Super Horn is a rare item
– Acts as a counter measure to the Blue Shell
– Voice chat in lobbies for games with friends only
– Tournaments are one of the bigger features in the game
– Choose an icon and input name for it when they Create-A-Tournament
– Select rules next
– Can change the speed of the race (50cc, 100cc, 150cc) whether you want to allow racing as teams or even multiple rounds to decide a winner
– Can also set if a tournament is public or restricted to friends
– Other tweaks: restrict control schemes used in a race, whether computer players can fill in empty slots, and vehicle types (kart, bike, or ATVs) allowed in the race
– Takes player ratings into account
– You can set up a race so only players who achieved a certain online rank can join
– Once a tournament is created, you have a number code to share with your friends, or it can be discovered publically via search
– Daily/weekly/monthly recurring tournaments supports
– Can set start/end times
– Ex: a player could host a race for friends that occurs every Sunday night between 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. PT
– Can set a tournament that has a specific start and end date, or even a number of races allowed within a set time
– Whenever you create a tournament, you can choose which item sets are allowed in a race
– Players can choose between: all items, shells only, bananas only, mushrooms only, bob-ombs only, no items, and Frantic Mode
– Frantic Mode: higher frequency of powerful items like Lightning Bolts, Bullet Bills, and possibly Blue Shells
– Game records all races you participate in
– Game retains the events of the last 12 you competed in on the Wii U itself
– These replays save everything that happened in the match, so you can use simple editing tools to tweak certain parameters
– Replays aren’t finalized video, but gameplay footage you can quickly edit in Mario Kart TV
– Not a complex editing system
– By tweaking certain parameters, you can focus on specific drivers and moments
– Video focuses on action, big hits, items, or drifting
– Clips are 30, 45, or 60 seconds
– You can also render a highlight reel to display the full race
– Once a highlight film is edited, you can output a video to Miiverse or YouTube in HD
– Unclear if 720p or 1080p
– Players sign up with a Google Account and, while it’s uploading, you can edit a Miiverse post with stamps
– Battle Mode features new and existing courses re-engineered for this mode
– Battle mode replays can also be edited and shared by Mario Kart TV.
– In multiplayer, the GamePad mirrors the same four-player split-screen that was on the television
This is included in the press release already posted on the site, but I figured the below news deserves some attention of its own. Nintendo has officially confirmed both voice and text chat (the latter coming in the form of certain phrases) for Mario Kart 8, though the feature will only be available if playing with friends and in lobbies.
Nintendo’s official notice about Mario Kart 8’s chat functionality states:
Like to trash-talk your friends while you’re preparing for a race? You’re in luck! Mario Kart 8 lets players chat with one another in the lobby area using the Wii U GamePad microphone or text phrases as they wait for their friends to join.
