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Wiimote candy dispenser puts yummy in our tummies
If we had to make a list of things that we love, Nintendo and candy would both be pretty high up there. That's why we want one of these Wiimote candy dispensers. Sure, it can't actually be used to play games, but it dispenses candy, and that's the next best thing. Spotted at the All Candy Expo, these candy filled Wiimotes were made by a company called Au'some. Au'some also has other Nintendo themed sweets, like the Mario Kart DS tire candies. Check after the break and you'll be in for a treat! (See what we did there?)
Friday Video: Make it a double
In honor of our week of fanboy love, we thought we'd give you not one, but two videos. It's a double shot of wacky Nintendo commercial goodness ... and we hope the fact that they're not new doesn't put you off. After all, the top two DS games aren't exactly new, so we had to take a little trip back in time to grab these two commercials, but it was worth it. Light on the gameplay and heavy on the funny, these two ads make for a good end to the week.
Mario Kart DS hits the meatspace
If you've had your fill of tossing virtual turtle shells at hapless virtual victims while racing around a virtual track, you can finally take your favorite Nintendo mascot for a spin around a real life track, thanks to the Nintendo Mario Kart DS Track Race Set. Unfortunately, we're guessing the novelty factor here is going to last for a good five laps or so before you realize that this thing is just as boring as every other slot racing set ever built.[Via Crave]
Japanese game commercials: you watched it, you can't unwatch it
Over at the wonderfully named Bits & Bytes & Pixels & Sprites, a set of Japanese video game commercials has been assembled for your entertainment and inevitable, irreparable and incredible psychological breakdown. Repeat viewing is not advised, though we suspect that for several of you, the lure of seeing grown men dressed as enormous microphones or Segata Sanshiro hurling human missiles about will be too great to resist. It certainly was for us.Our favorite commercial, one filled with painful foreign stereotypes and truly unnerving facial expressions, is embedded in the second part of the post. [Thanks Dan!]
Free expression isn't always a good thing
Games like Mario Kart DS allow you to create your own user image, for use when trampling opponents to the ground online. Embraced by some as an outlet for creativity -- as opposed to the restrictions in place with Halo 2 emblems and Xbox Live gamer pictures -- it seems there's a downside to giving people free rein over a 32x32 block of pixels.The image to the right exemplifies this. Given near-unlimited creative freedom, this gamer has chosen to represent himself ingame with a swastika. We're sure that plenty of other offensive images are out there as emblems, too -- not to mention the number of crude designs you could make in Animal Crossing.It could be reflective of the maturity of this one gamer, or of gamers in general, but it doesn't represent us well -- imagine the reaction of a casual gamer picking up the DS for the first time.
Joystiq Review: Mario Kart DS
Joystiq gives its belated review of the popular Mario Kart DS released on November 14, 2005 for the Nintendo DS handheld. Considered by many to be the Mario Kart all-star edition, Mario Kart DS is a fast paced, well designed, easy-to-pick-up, and engaging game. Though suited for the casual gamer, hardcore players should enjoy this title as well for its pure competitive racing. Mario Kart DS is also the first title to feature Nintendo's free wi-fi connection service. It is as easy as playing someone in your very own room, and though it has it's setbacks with limited online options, the game is arguably the most enjoyable racer on any system, to date.
Free taxi ride for MarioKart DS
Nintendo signed a deal with a London taxi company to give away free rides in an effort to promote their new Mario Kart DS. Tickets could be found in London newspapers; unfortunately, this deal seems to have been a one day affair. Considering the price of a London cab ride, this couldn't have been a cheap promotion. [Thanks, The_Wind_Waker8]
Multiplayer themed Mario Kart DS advert
Now that Nintendo has committed to online gaming with its Wifi connection service for the DS, it wants to show the world. To this end, Nintendo has released an advert for Mario Kart DS, which highlights the title's multiplayer aspect. The ad demonstrates the game's multiplayer features through several people watching a Nascar race on TV. When one person throws his food in disgust at the screen, he's surprised to see that the hotdog goes straight through the screen. The renegade hotdog disrupts the driver's view, and he swerves to avoid crashing. It's not long before a bunch of other people are throwing pizza, ironing boards and squirting mustard at the cars. It's an entertaining representation of the things you can do to slow down friends in a multiplayer game of Mario Kart DS. [Thanks, Shenzou]
Pros and cons of Mario Kart DS online play
IGN has made a list of the pros and cons of Mario Kart DS online play. Some good points: simple matchups, easy Friends List in local Wi-Fi, 20 tracks online, and up to 4 players in any part of the world. Some bad points: lack of online options, sorry matchmaking, no online battle mode, and only 4 players online. Certain things were revealed in earlier gameplay demonstrations (such as the lack of the "Three Banana" power-up and the ability to trail a shell or peel behind you for protection), but it's nice to see a quick round-up to answer our Kart-ing questions before next week's release. [Thanks, Abhinav]
Mario Kart DS -- leaked ad script hypes WiFi network
Game Insider has gotten its hands on the script for an upcoming Mario Kart DS TV spot. The ad is supposed to be filmed this month and then released a month after that, reaffirming an early November release date. The ad itself is a quirky series of events that hypes the DS's future global WiFi network. If Nintendo can manage to get this network running smoothly and release a killer app like Mario Kart in time for the holiday season, expect to see a serious boost in DS sales. When is Sony gonna get with the program? Ad Script (PDF) [Thanks, bandersnatch]
Mario Kart DS screens and impressions
Striegs writes: Apparently in all the excitement of learning the DS's European launch date, everyone missed the fact that Nintendo demonstrated a playable version of Mario Kart DS at their Paris press conference. CVG has their preliminary impressions for us, as well as 5 screenshots of the the next installment in the venerable Mario Kart series. One of their initial impressions is that it greatly resembles Mario Kart for SNES (in a good way). They also mention that 8-player wireless multiplayer modes will be included (fingers crossed for 8-player battle mode), and that the lower screen will be used to navigate menus and for viewing your stats and the track map. The game is due out around May sometime, so I'm counting on everyone to pester Nintendo to instate online multiplayer within the next three months. We can do it!
