Jason Wishnov
Articles by Jason Wishnov
DS Daily: GHDS
In case you missed it, Guitar Hero, rhythm-game-turned-pop-icon, has been announced for the Nintendo DS. "Rock on!" we thought, excited to get our shred on during bowel movements bus rides. And as we picture it, we can ... wait ... what the hell are we picturing?We love Elite Beat Agents, but we really hope there's a unique flavor to the gameplay. If you were lead designer, how would you guys implement the controls? Would you retain the common five-fret board, or mix it up entirely? We've seen guitar applications on the DS before; will any of those be plagiarized? [Note: Image from VGSPlayer, a Guitar Hero training program.]
Rumor: FFXIII chapter coming to the DS?
Final Fantasy XIII will be an odd beast, containing a primary entry (currently an exclusive for the PS3) and several spin-off titles, a la Final Fantasy VII; the collection as a whole will be entitled Fabula Nova Crystallis. However, only two spin-offs had been announced: Final Fantasy XIII Versus, also for the PS3, and Final Fantasy XIII Agito, available for mobile phones. These were apparently the only planned titles until the above (beside?) picture surfaced, clearly showing at least three more unknown entries in the series.Square-Enix knows how unbelievably profitable the DS is, and recently released review scores of FFXII: Revenant Wings will ensure solid sales in Japan. Personally, we find it hard to believe that one of these titles won't be coming to the DS, and heck, who knows ... there might even be a Wii title in there too.
Final Opera browser showdown with the PS3
So we're pretty happy with the Wii browser, and apparently you guys are too. Still, it's not a PC, and there are sites out there with whom our Opera browser doesn't play happily. It only features Flash 7.0, after all, and Java is a no-go. Still, can it handle some of the most popular sites out there? Games Digest takes the Wii browser on a spin through fifteen of the most popular sites in today's intertubes, and compares its performance with the PS3's built-in browser. We won't spoil the outcome.We're actually quite surprised at the Wii's performance at Last.fm, essentially radio over the internet. If you've got a killer sound system hooked up to your TV, you can set the jams on high and rock out. Just like we do. Check out which sites are Wii-friendly, and which not! You might be surprised.
Why art thou n00b? [update 1]
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Why_art_thou_n00b'; One cannot live in the gaming world without encountering the ever-present dichotomy of "pro vs. n00b." Gamers claim superiority over others for their skill and ability, thus forming ridiculous "caste" systems in established communities across the globe. But what is skill, in gaming? What makes a gamer "good," able to achieve high-scores, able to frag their opponents with ease? Many gamers will simply state "reflexes" or more colloquially, "mad skillz yo LOL," but we'd like to take this opportunity and explore what truly makes a player exceptional ... and what the DS is doing to change that.
Japanese hardware sales, Apr. 2 - Apr. 8: Puzzle Quest 2: Tetris edition
The superlative Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords had this crazy notion to blend the classic gameplay of Bejeweled with a surprisingly deep RPG experience. We think this is a great idea, and decided: why not revisit the greatest classic of all? That's right, folks, here's our design document for the guaranteed billion-seller, Destiny of Tetris: Age of the Mystic Blade. Play as one of seven exciting classes, including square, T-shape, and leftways squiggly! Discover a hidden conspiracy regarding the NexPiece, a legendary window said to grant its users access to the future! Obtain new skills as you progress, including attack spells, elemental tetromino summons, and increased vodka tolerance. Build an empire: well, what the hell else did you think you were building with those blocks? Surely, thou art tingling with excitement. We can hardly believe this game's brilliance ourselves. Stay tuned for Destiny of Tetris 2: Kremlin Fever and Destiny of Tetris Advance: Little Kids Throw Snowballs At Each Other.- DS Lite: 110,845 30,948 (38.73%)- Wii: 52,583 1,218 (2.37%)- PSP: 31,503 7,574 (19.38%) - PS3: 14,520 2,369 (14.03%) - PS2: 14,234 3,553 (19.98%) - Xbox 360: 2,963 926 (23.81%) - GBA SP: 833 224 (36.78%) - Game Boy Micro: 512 76 (12.93%) - Gamecube: 255 50 (24.39%) - DS Phat: 90 25 (21.74%) - GBA: 12 3 (33.33%)[Source: Media Create]
Japanese hardware sales, Apr. 2 - Apr. 8: Puzzle Quest 2: Tetris edition
Perhaps you've heard of it? Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, an excellent new title on the Wii's little brother, had this crazy plan to blend the classic gameplay of Bejeweled with a surprisingly deep RPG experience. We think this is a great idea, and decided: why not revisit the greatest classic of all? That's right, folks, here's our design document for the guaranteed billion-seller, Destiny of Tetris: Age of the Mystic Blade. Play as one of seven exciting classes, including square, T-shape, and leftways squiggly! Discover a hidden conspiracy regarding the NexPiece, a legendary window said to grant its users access to the future! Obtain new skills as you progress, including attack spells, elemental tetromino summons, and increased vodka tolerance. Build an empire: well, what the hell else did you think you were building with those blocks? Surely, thou art tingling with excitement. We can hardly believe this game's brilliance ourselves. Stay tuned for Destiny of Tetris 2: Kremlin Fever and Destiny of Tetris Advance: Little Kids Throw Snowballs At Each Other.- DS Lite: 110,845 30,948 (38.73%)- Wii: 52,583 1,218 (2.37%)- PSP: 31,503 7,574 (19.38%) - PS3: 14,520 2,369 (14.03%) - PS2: 14,234 3,553 (19.98%) - Xbox 360: 2,963 926 (23.81%) - GBA SP: 833 224 (36.78%) - Game Boy Micro: 512 76 (12.93%) - Gamecube: 255 50 (24.39%) - DS Phat: 90 25 (21.74%) - GBA: 12 3 (33.33%)[Source: Media Create]
Samba de Amigo coming to Wii? [update 1]
There's a genius in the higher management of Sega who recently came to a revelation. "My God," he said, "we can make a crapload of money by bringing back popular franchises that find suitable uses for the Wiimote." And lo, his word became gospel, and now there's a tasty rumor on the horizon that his teachings are spreading far and wide: the classic arcade rhythm title Samba de Amigo may be coming to the Wii by year's end.We don't need to tell you, of course, that the Wii was originally designed for the express purpose of shaking maracas. It's brilliant. If you're wondering how this title can compare to more traditional rhythm-based games, here are some wonderful YouTube clips for your enjoyment. Here's to you, Sega executive guy.Update: Sorry, pesky little typos broke out of their cage.
Letterman snags free DS and Brain Age
Nintendo occasionally feels fit to send certain ailing minds a free Nintendo DS Lite and a copy of Brain Age, to shake off the rust. This time, however, they sent a perfectly functioning and quite hilarious mind the very same gift, commemorating the sixtieth birthday of none other than David Letterman. From what we know, he isn't much of a gamer, but perhaps Nintendo'll hit the marketing jackpot and make an addict of the man.The jury is out ... and will most likely forever be out ... on whether Brain Age actually works or not, but hey, as long as we think it's working, good enough. Take a close-up look at the letter after the break (they even sent his mom one!).
DS Daily: Staying power
High profile game releases come and go; we play the heck out of titles and usually move on. But sometimes, we don't. We go back, again and again, due to some unknown and mysterious force, beckoning at our wills.Mario Kart DS and Clubhouse Games always seem to wind up in our DS after periods of relative inactivity; the casual nature of said games make it extremely easy to fit a round in whenever the mood strikes. Other games, however, such as Metroid Prime: Hunters, have gone untouched for months. Which titles do you guys play again and again, burning the midnight oil?
Companies playing "catch-up" on Wii's massive appeal
We love the fact that the Wii has exceeded all sales expectations (and every month that the Wii outsells the others, those other guys have to do all the chores around here), but it isn't all strawberries and shortcake for Nintendo. Despite the great start, the lack of confidence some of the big players had regarding the Wii is manifesting into a horrendous drought of early third-party titles. EA in particular had to scramble to release decent titles (SSX Blur, Godfather) after the E3 2006 buzz and early sales success, and the lack of foresight has hurt their profit margin.Indeed, not a single US publisher had a Wii game in the top 20 best-sellers in February, despite the obvious success of the console. EA plans to release six more games this year, but which of those won't be ported sports titles and movie franchises? Not that we don't want to cast spells with the Wiimote, because we do, but American third-party support will be weak until these flat-footed developers get with the times.Check the Bloomberg article for some more detailed analysis and feel-good predictions about the Wii's future sales.[Via GameDaily BIZ]
Japanese hardware sales, Mar. 26 - Apr. 1: Limited Edition
Imagine as though you've just opened a freshly minted pack of edition, fresh from the factory. You tear through the commons ... Unicorn Edition, Fourth Dimensional Edition, Richard Simmons Edition ... and there, sitting amongst the dreck, is the rarest of the rare. Truly, you are blessed this day, as you hold the special foil-etched edition to the sky, reflecting the sunlight in prisms of rarity.This edition, friends, contains only the finest materials. Text is inlaid with pure gold, and we give you our solemn promise that the edition you see, right on your computer screen, is in fact number (JAVASCRIPT.parsingError: pageViews modulo 1000) out of 1000! That's freakin' rare.Now, you may encase said edition in a cheap plastic sheath, and bring it to school to brag to all your friends. You can battle against those other editions, too. Remember! Not everyone has received this edition. Only you, and perhaps a handful of other bless'ed souls. Feel special, dear reader, and gaze upon these VIP-only sales numbers.- DS Lite: 79,897 50,652 (38.80%)- Wii: 51,365 24,206 (32.03%)- PSP: 39,077 2,469 (5.94%) - PS2: 17,787 826 (4.87%) - PS3: 16,889 3,570 (17.45%) - Xbox 360: 3,889 397 (11.37%) - GBA SP: 609 2 (0.33%) - Game Boy Micro: 588 177 (23.14%) - Gamecube: 205 65 (24.07%) - DS Phat: 115 20 (14.81%) - GBA: 9 13 (59.09%)[Source: Media Create]
Japanese hardware sales, Mar. 26 - Apr. 1: Limited edition
Imagine as though you've just opened a freshly minted pack of edition, fresh from the factory. You tear through the commons ... Unicorn Edition, Fourth Dimensional Edition, Richard Simmons Edition ... and there, sitting amongst the dreck, is the rarest of the rare. Truly, you are blessed this day, as you hold the special foil-etched edition to the sky, reflecting the sunlight in prisms of rarity.This edition, friends, contains only the finest materials. Text is inlaid with pure gold, and we give you our solemn promise that the edition you see, right on your computer screen, is in fact number (JAVASCRIPT.parsingError: pageViews modulo 1000) out of 1000! That's freakin' rare.Now, you may encase said edition in a cheap plastic sheath, and bring it to school to brag to all your friends. You can battle against those other editions, too. Remember! Not everyone has received this edition. Only you, and perhaps a handful of other bless'ed souls. Feel special, dear reader, and gaze upon these VIP-only sales numbers.- DS Lite: 79,897 50,652 (38.80%)- Wii: 51,365 24,206 (32.03%)- PSP: 39,077 2,469 (5.94%) - PS2: 17,787 826 (4.87%) - PS3: 16,889 3,570 (17.45%) - Xbox 360: 3,889 397 (11.37%) - GBA SP: 609 2 (0.33%) - Game Boy Micro: 588 177 (23.14%) - Gamecube: 205 65 (24.07%) - DS Phat: 115 20 (14.81%) - GBA: 9 13 (59.09%)[Source: Media Create]
DS-Xtreme does everything a PSP can
There seems to be a very positive correlation between ease of use and price in the world of homebrew, and the latest all-in-one product is no exception. The DS-Xtreme 2GB is touting itself as a PSP killer, featuring a decent amount of space for homebrew applications, music, and movies. It's an elegant solution, connecting to the PC via standard USB and fitting in the standard DS-cartridge slot with no extra hardware required ... but the damn thing costs $129.99.If you're very rich looking to break into the homebrew scene, which is actually quite developed on the DS, this is an excellent option, but we do highly recommend a bit of intelligent shopping before making your decision. The DS-X is not yet released, but it's close, so keep an out at their website for the official date and further details.
Metroid Prime 3 not shipping before July
In a recent interview with Newsweek, Reggie Fils-Aime revealed that he likes ponies Metroid Prime 3: Corruption would not be shipping before July. This is hardly a surprise, as we expect Nintendo to hype the heck out of what will surely be the first killer-app FPS on the console, but we find it slightly disappointing nevertheless.More disturbing, however, is the concept of the "Big Three" (Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl) all supposedly being released in 2007. Realistically, one of these three will be pushed back (most likely Brawl, since Prime is extremely far into development and Shigeru Miyamoto recently reconfirmed a 2007 release for Galaxy), but with nothing coming before July, will Nintendo risk putting even two of its heavy hitters in close proximity to one another? Nintendo could get away with only one release, provided certain games are released as scheduled, but the prospects are disturbing.
DS Daily: Should we get it...?
We'll admit it ... we're not fully sold on Puzzle Quest. After the superlative Meteos, another DS puzzler seems like it might let us down, and yet sterling reviews keep pouring in. What's a group of poor bloggers to do? Why, ask their readers, of course!The game is apparently nigh impossible to find, but we know a guy. Did any of you pick it up, and is it as totally awesome as the messengers say? Even without the cart, you can pick up a PC demo right here, which we're about to install. Let's hear the verdict!
Wii Warm Up: Morbid fantasy
The Wii will play host to a wonderful plethora of violent games in the future: Manhunt, Sadness, and Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles are but a few. We can't help but wonder: how do you want to kill people in said titles? What wonderfully creative uses of the Wiimote can be conjured forth?We can think of some good ones. Snapping someone's neck, slicing their throat with shards of glass, and shoving multiple Pez dispensers down their throat. Beat that! Dazzle us with your wit!
APD alert: Wii Helm
ThinkGeek is apparently offering a brilliant new product: the Wii Helm. Besides the +7 charisma you'll obviously receive, the Wii Helm allows one to strap in a Wiimote to the top of a sleek, shiny helmet to free up both hands for other endeavors. The demo video shows a daring pioneer in her quest to utilize head motions to conquer Wii Sports.Yes, it's a joke, and a clever one at that. But upon watching the video, we here at the Fanboy could only think of a glorious future, in which the official Night at the Roxbury game features realistic head-bobbing for super-mega-funtime. Truly amazing.Another "joke" at ThinkGeek involves this tie, which we thought was horribly cruel, because it is awesome in every single way. However, torrents of furious E-mails (nineteen of which were ours) have forced ThinkGeek to actually start manufacturing the product in the near future. Viva la 8-bit![Thanks to Dustin, Alex, and Liqwid!]
Japanese hardware sales, Mar. 19 - Mar. 25: April Fools edition
Did we say April Fools edition? We meant completely real edition. This weeks numbers, for whatever reason, are slightly unusual, so we've coupled a short explanation for each system in the chart. - Atari Jaguar: 1,989,323 1,989,322 - In a startling turn of events, the Atari Jaguar received an unbelievable resurgence in popularity. Its success can only be attributed to a flash mob, who thought it would be funny for a bunch of people to raid a warehouse and purchase a bunch of systems wholesale.- Wii: 134,257 9,834 - The Wii continues to sell well. In related news, mysterious living-room related deaths are rising rapidly.- PS3: 70,942 20,771 - The PS3, despite continuous bad press, continues to grill burgers with the best of them. George Foreman's stock is rapidly falling.- PSP: 38,211 4,032 - Poospè?- PS2: 37,778 7,110 - While 37,778 units were sold, it turns out that only three were sold to people who weren't replacing a broken one.- Xbox 360: 14,170 3,173 - Has anyone else noticed this heat wave lately? We're looking at you, power bricks.- Gamecube: 666 666 - Oh my God. Run.- GBA SP: pi e - Lawl. Pi + e = Pie.- Xbox: i ... er ... ... dammit! - Remarkably, the Xbox managed to sell an imaginary number of units last week. Whether this is better or worse than zero units, we're not sure.- DS Lite: 0 121,471 - Nintendo has a problem: everyone in Japan already has a DS Lite. Didn't see that one coming ....[Source: Lamar]Check after the break for the totally fake numbers. Yep, not like the ones above at all. Really, really fake.
Japanese hardware sales, Mar. 19 - Mar. 25: April Fools edition
Did we say April Fools edition? We meant completely real edition. This weeks numbers, for whatever reason, are slightly unusual, so we've coupled a short explanation for each system in the chart. - Atari Jaguar: 1,989,323 1,989,322 - In a startling turn of events, the Atari Jaguar received an unbelievable resurgence in popularity. Its success can only be attributed to a flash mob, who thought it would be funny for a bunch of people to raid a warehouse and purchase a bunch of systems wholesale.- Wii: 134,257 9,834 - The Wii continues to sell well. In related news, mysterious living-room related deaths are rising rapidly.- PS3: 70,942 20,771 - The PS3, despite continuous bad press, continues to grill burgers with the best of them. George Foreman's stock is rapidly falling.- PSP: 38,211 4,032 - Poospe?- PS2: 37,778 7,110 - While 37,778 units were sold, it turns out that only three were sold to people who weren't replacing a broken one.- Xbox 360: 14,170 3,173 - Has anyone else noticed this heat wave lately? We're looking at you, power bricks.- Gamecube: 666 666 - Oh my God. Run.- GBA SP: pi e - Lawl. Pi + e = Pie.- Xbox: i ... er ... ... dammit! - Remarkably, the Xbox managed to sell an imaginary number of units last week. Whether this is better or worse than zero units, we're not sure.- DS Lite: 0 121,471 - Nintendo has a problem: everyone in Japan already has a DS Lite. Didn't see that one coming ....[Source: Lamar]Check after the break for the totally fake numbers. Yep, not like the ones above at all. Really, really fake.
DJWiiJ.com bought by Nintendo?
Back in the day, so to speak, we brought you news of a homebrew project using the Wiimote called "WiiJ"ing, in which one (or two) Wiimotes were used to control various functions of popular mixing software (Traktor). We're convinced the technology is indeed real at this point, but according to the WiiJ creator and head-honcho, Nintendo has come forward and straight-up purchased the website and concept from him for release in a future game.Sounds cool, and certainly in line with Nintendo's strategy, but color us a bit skeptical. A quick WHOIS shows domain registration as unchanged in the site's history, and in addition, the front page news post regarding the deal has a bazillion-word long actual game description. It's unlikely that Nintendo would simply allow the creator of WiiJing to simply dictate the full design of a videogame, and at this point, certainly, little to no actual development has been completed.What say you? Even if it isn't real, would you enjoy or look forward to an application like this?[Thanks, Jason!]