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Today's IP-never-dies video: Lucy and Honeymooners
MTV's Stephen Totilo "somehow wound up with an exclusive" about new casual games based on The Honeymooners and I Love Lucy. While most of us are scratching our heads about the properties, maybe this signals a new trend for old IP; there's that Dirty Dancing game after all. Clearly, these titles aren't for us. (And by "us," we mean people who get jokes about the potential for cake and also think that those jokes are played out.)Beanbag Studios anticipates launching at least one Lucy trivia game and one Honeymooners bowling game this year. Yes, these PC and cell phone games are being built into long-term franchises. Witness videos of each game after the break.
Final game of Erickson Sports' Wii Bowling Championship
All good things must eventually come to an end, and with that we bring the final game in the Erickson Sports' Wii Bowling Championship. Following the results of game one and game two, everything was on the line here in game three. And, the results of the final game might surprise you.Congrats to the winners![Thanks Zach!]
Game 2 of the Erickson Sports Nintendo Wii Bowling Championship
If you caught the first game, then you know what to expect from this video: more senior citizens in he bowling match of their lives. At least, that's how they treat it, as many teams across this great nation throw down for the ultimate prize of glory and respect. There is one thing we can definitely say about a lot of these bowlers, though. They would probably stomp us in some Wii Sports: Bowling.[Thanks, Zach!]
Even Cavemen dig the Wii
You know, we were pretty much dead set on this show being absolute garbage the first time we had seen advertisements. Apparently, it isn't half bad though, because the writers of the show were smart enough to include the best gaming system ever into the show. While we'd probably be more concerned with these prehistoric trio's brain age, we'll settle for their bowling average instead.And, just for the record, there's only one caveman that deserved his own show. We present proof after the break.
Senior citizens see who's the best of the best in Wii Sports: Bowling [update 1]
We love to see people, regardless of their age, enjoy gaming. We even love the spirit of competition. Heck, we love lots of things these days. So, with that in mind, we bring forth this video of the first game being played in the First Annual Erickson Sports Nintendo Wii Bowling Championship. And, like any kind of championship, we're impressed by the presentation of it all. Oh, one other thing: don't mess with Charlie "The Hook" Dierbach. That man looks like he's liable to mess you up.You got served!Update: Wow, me am not good at grammar. Sorry for the mistake in the headline, all is fixed thanks to the keen eye of Miranda.[Thanks, Zach!]
WRUP: Rollin' balls edition
Those looking for a new game to play over this weekend are only left with one title: Brunswick Pro Bowling. But, even if you aren't the bowling aficionado we make you out to be, it's at least the last weekend we've all have to live through without our biggest anticipated game for the Wii: Metroid Prime 3.Will you be bowling on the Wii this weekend, or do you have something else planned for your leisurely time?
Month of Metroid Prime 3 videos continues
With the third and final Metroid Prime title coming in just a week, we're being blitzed with previews from all directions. GameTrailers's extended hands-on impressions, embedded above, builds up the hype without spoiling too much of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption's story. The six-minute clip examines the first-person adventure's graphics, controls, and token system, lauding each point at every corner. If you're still craving some new preview footage after all that, the video site also has a variety of gameplay movies, as well as a comparison between Corruption and its GameCube predecessor, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.Nintendo also updated its Metroid Prime 3: Corruption channel with two new clips. The first video documents the aftermath of a Space Pirates attack on Galactic Federation ship Valhalla, whereas the second clip has Samus knocking down her enemies while in Morph Ball mode. You can watch both of them past the post break. The next two movies, Dark Samus and Mine Battle, will show up on the preview channel this Thursday.
Wii releases for the week of August 20th
This week, the Wii's lone release is none other than the seductive siren's call of crashing pins and that long, slick lane. It's about rolling with the best of them (so long as it isn't on Saturday). It's about being sponsored by Denny's and perhaps scoring wih a single mom or two. It's about that wonderful sport of bowling: Brunswick Pro Bowling Any of you willing to give this one a try? Sick of Wii Sports: Bowling and wish to give this a spin?
Wiimbledon organizers looking to start up Wii bowling league
With the Wiimbledon event concluded, the fine folks at Geekanerd bring word that Steve Bryant, one of the folks responsible for creating the Wiimbledon event, is looking to start up a NYC Wii bowling league. Dubbed Wii Bowl NY, little else is known about the venture other than it has a website (it's a dead link at the moment and, apparently, will go live sometime soon).Bryant states some of his plans, though. "We expect it to be like a corporate softball league -- weekly games, three-person teams, played at various bars around the city. Probably start in September once everybody's back from vacation," he says. Our only problem? We don't live in New York city, so we can't compete![Thanks, Albert!]
Hands-on: High Velocity Bowling
We can't say we're too excited for High Velocity Bowling, an upcoming downloadable title for the PlayStation Network. While holding the Sixaxis controller like a bowling ball is a novel idea, it doesn't translate the sport very well, unlike Wii Sports. The game's biggest flaw comes in the way it approaches spin: instead of analyzing the actual motion of a player's swing, the shoulder buttons must be pressed while launching the ball. In doing so, the game neither provides the full motion freedom of Wii Sports, nor does it provide arcade-styled precision of traditional button-based bowling games.While we're glad Sony is trying a wide variety of games for its downloadable service, we can't help but feel that High Velocity Bowling hurts the platform more than anything else: it encourages active comparison to Wii Sports, and doesn't offer a compelling control mechanism. Instead of paying for High Velocity Bowling, might we recommend Home, which includes its own bowling game, instead?%Gallery-4969%
Bowling with The Sims game in iTunes Store
Get your iPods out and your gaming thumbs on boys and girls - the iTunes Store just added a new game: The Sims Bowling (iTunes link). From the preview trailer in the iTunes Store, it looks like a pretty decent bowling game; users are able to adjust their position and direction before throwing, and you can of course create your own Sim with which to hit the lanes. Reviews are also pouring in at the store, with an average rating of 4/5 stars.As with all other iPod games from the iTunes Store, The Sims Bowling costs $4.99 and only works on fifth-generation iPods with iPod Software 1.2 or later.Thanks, Gustaaf!
Retired folk bowl, we watch in awe
The embedded video comes courtesy of the Bribie Island Retirement Village in Queensland, Australia, where one resident fancies herself quite the Wii bowler. Marion, who isn't the only one fond of Wii Sports: Bowling at the retirement community, ends up tossing a mean ball, showing that she has what it takes to take on all comers. And in the 8 weeks it's been since the Wii has been brought to the retirement community, many others have found a new activity to enjoy. Grey gamers, gotta love 'em![Via The Tanooki]
Sony's High Velocity Bowling started 'literally right before' Nintendo announced Wii Sports' Bowling
MTV ninja Stephen Totilo infiltrated the tooth-decaying sugar-fluff of Sony Gamers' Day and shoved his mic into High Velocity Bowling developer Scott Rohde's face, asking him the tough question: Dude, like, you know everyone's sayin' you just copied Nintendo ... so, like, you did, right? Maybe not. With the lens carefully trained on his San Diego tan, Rohde's fired back with a little-known factoid, "Before we knew that Wii Bowling was coming out we were building [High Velocity], absolutely." You sure about that, Scott? 'Cause Nintendo confirmed 'Bowling' back in September '06. "We started working on it, literally, right before that ... and we had a prototype up in place when [Wii Sports] came out," alleged Rohde.But why argue about who was first to the gimmick? Considering price, Wii Sports and High Velocity are categorically different. Wii Sports is free, but as a PSN title, High Velocity will likely cost in the $5-to-10 range (and planned expansion packs could balloon the total price). If Rohde's statements are accurate, then High Velocity will end up more akin to Rockstar's Table Tennis or maybe the Outlaw sports series, as it will apparently feature a more robust physics engine than Wii Sports and pre-built unlockable characters. Wii's Bowling will ultimately be matched up against PlayStation Home's built-in bowling game, which is being developed separately from High Velocity, but, like the others, will probably incorporate motion controls.
SGD '07: Wii Sports-like bowling game for PSN
Sony revolutionizes the games industry yet again by introducing a sports game that detects your motion through the controller! Instead of pressing buttons, one can hold the controller and move it as if it were a real bowling ball. We love the idea!But in all honesty, we think that the SIXAXIS may not be as well-suited for this type of gameplay as other consoles. Joystiq's Kevin Kelly tried the game, and as we suspected, didn't have the easiest time with the game: "You literally flip the controller on its side, hold it with your thumb between the analog sticks, and then sweep your arm gracefully along an arc while holding and releasing one of the buttons to send your ball down the alley. Sound simple? Well, it is and it isn't. Holding the SIXAXIS like that feels really, really weird. It's like we're wired or programmed to hold that controller with both hands, and doing something like that makes our gamer genes cry out in pain. Although, in all honesty, once we got the hang of it, it wasn't all that bad." So while not truly revolutionary, High Velocity Bowling should offer some motion-sensing fun for the Wii-less. Because it's coming through the PLAYSTATION Network, this experiment in copycat design should, at the very least, be affordable.
High Velocity Bowling is ... bowling its way onto PS3
Click for bigger version. var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playstation_3/Wii_Sports_like_bowling_game_for_PS3'; In a game announcement destined to pit Wii against PS3 (did you ever think you'd hear that?), Sony announced its very own High Velocity Bowling game that utilizes the Sixaxis' motion controls. You literally flip the controller on its side, hold it with your thumb between the analog sticks, and then sweep your arm gracefully along an arc while holding and releasing one of the buttons to send your ball down the alley.Sound simple? Well, it is and it isn't. Holding the Sixaxis like that feels really, really weird. It's like we're wired or programmed to hold that controller with both hands, and doing something like that makes our gamer genes cry out in pain. Although, in all honesty, once we got the hang of it, it wasn't all that bad. It's not Wiimote easy, and with the Sixaxis having no wrist strap whatsoever, we're especially worried about people sending these things sailing through their 1080p plasma screens.There's no Mii-like cutesy Fisher-Price people in this bowling game. Instead, you get extremely uncanny valley-ish avatars that look a tad frightening. Those shiny wood floors sure look good in HD, though, and there's a fairly kitschy Lebowski feel to the whole setting. Strangely enough, this downloadable PlayStation Network game is different than the bowling game you can play in Home (which still in the works). They haven't announced a price point yet but as far as a release date goes, "Fall" has been the watchword of the day.
Leaked UK retail list raises questions
Nanostray 2 ... on Wii? Orb, Thorn and Midnight all coming this year? When they leak retail information sheets in the UK, they do it right. Wii UK got their hands on a retail list (origin and destination unknown) with few concrete dates and a lot of unexpected, and even unknown games, as well as a few old favorites we're always happy to hear about. Hit the jump for the full list, but keep in mind that these are UK titles and games ... and since there's not much source information, you might want to keep a few grains of salt handy. But it's okay to get a little excited. We won't tell anyone.
WiigoBot melds Lego with Wii bowling, knocks down all 10 pins in our hearts
If a lowly blogger could die from awesomeness, we're pretty sure we'd be keeling over right about now. The Lego Mindstorms geekz0rs over at BattleBricks have managed to reach new heights of human ingenuity, melding a Mindstorms NXT kit, some clever programming and Nintendo's Wii to create an unstoppable bowling machine capable of tossing a perfect game without breaking a sweat, growing a nasty mustache, or sporting a beer belly. While the BattleBricks folks don't provide precise instructions on how to build this yourself, they've got plenty of evidence that it does, indeed, bowl like a champ. So peep the action video after the break, and then start plotting your own NXT creation conquer some other form of automated Wii Sports point inflation -- we never could quite get the hang of tennis.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Wii Warm Up: Wii Sports revisited
So, we've had both dry weeks and deluges -- overall, a fair number of offerings to distract us from Wii Sports over the past few months. And yet, it remains in the news as a media darling. But let's not worry about the rest of the world at the moment; let's talk serious, f'real gamers. Are we still playing Wii Sports? For fun, for profit exercise, or just out of sheer boredom -- if you're still whacking the racket or throwing punches, we want to know. And if you are still playing, we want to hear about those crazy, off-the-chart scores.
PC Magazine salutes Wii Sports: Bowling, but sees adverse health effects long-term
Columnist John C. Dvorak has some very positive things to say about Nintendo's Wii console, namely its bundled game Wii Sports. Actually, he's very impressed by Wii Sports: Bowling, to be precise. Being a man with a rather illustrious bowling past, he found the game to be dead-on as far as realistically translating real-life movement into in-game action goes. This is something we thought was so impressive about the game from our first moments with it, however we had no frame of reference as we never really excelled in the sport out in the real world.What's odd about his piece, however, is that he claims prolonged play with the title will cause some adverse medical conditions in the player. This is something we ourselves can't believe, as we've had sessions that have lasted quite awhile, bordering on the double-digit hour time frame. Even those nights we never found ourselves to be physically fatigued in any way, aside from our feet (having stood up so long, y'know).Do any of you suffer from cramps or pain from prolonged play with Wii Sports: Bowling?
Nintendo's Wii a hit with the geriatric set?
No, we don't expect the vast majority of elderly folks kickin' it in a retirement home to honestly show any interest in video games (right?), but apparently, the Wii's at least making some minor strides in getting the geriatric set up and active with virtual sports. While we assume those suffering from lingering hip injuries are apt to join the (admittedly quiet) cheerleading section, a group of athletic 70-somethings from Sedgebrook retirement community are "hooked on Wii Sports," with bowling being the unanimous favorite. The response has been so positive that the locale is actually cranking up a 20-person tournament for an undisclosed reward, and while the residents have often commented about how "realistic" the Wiimote was in tossing the ball, the community actually has a fan for folks to dry their hands off before rolling a strike -- which is probably a smart move considering the potentially fatal injuries that could occur from slippage. Still, an isolated incident of fun-lovin' grandparents getting their game on isn't apt to convince us that the next big gaming market is in retirees, and honestly, how many elderly folks rushed out to snag a Wii for the grandchild, and ended up keeping it for themselves?[Via DailyTech, thanks Randall B]
